Harvest Moon: The Search For Salvation
by Harvestboy Goobus
Summary: SEQUEL TO REVIVAL IN FLOWERBUD The sequel to the original Christian Harvest Moon story is back! After Karen disappeared from Jack's life, he was devastated but kept strong. Now a stranger named Sarah Dickens has appeared in Flowerbud. She looks like someo
1. Prologue

**Harvest Moon: The Search for Salvation**

**Prologue**

It was a beautiful day in the city of New York. Birds were singing loudly. A parade was going down Main Street. It was a warm seventy-eight degrees outside. For the men and women who didn't have air conditioners, it was hotter.

On the beach, where the sea air rushed in and cooled it down substantially, a single girl washed up on the shore.

She lay on the sand for hours until an middle-aged woman noticed her and rushed over to the unconscious girl.

"Hello?" she called. The girl didn't respond. She bent down to check the girls pulse. It was faint but she would live.

The woman turned the girl over, onto her back, so that she could check the girl's breathing. She was breathing hoarsely but she would be fine with some rest.

The older woman inspected the girl. She had a substantially sized bump on her forehead. Blood oozed from a cut at the tip of the lump. "That's going to leave a scar;" the woman said quietly. "Probably a concussion too." she finished.

The unconscious girl was actually quite beautiful. With the soft face and the full figure that she had, any man would drool at the sight of this woman. Her hair was a beautiful shade of brown with blonde bangs that looked to be natural.

"She looks so familiar… so very…" Recognition flashed across the woman's face. "Oh, God. She's… my niece!"


	2. Painful Memories

**Chapter 1: Painful Memories**

**Three Years Later**

Jack slammed his hoe into the darkened earth. Dirt flew into his face, but he ignored it. He brought the tool back up and down until kicking up more dirt.

After a few more cycles of this, he dropped the hoe onto the ground and brought a handkerchief up to his face and wiped the sweat off his brow.

"Man… this heat wave is getting to me! I could use a break!" He brought his fingers to his lips and was about to call Thunder, his horse, when a loud _MOO_ interrupted him.

Jack sighed and turned to face his prize-winning cow. "Hey, Karen! I guess I should milk you first, huh?"

Karen mooed in reply and Jack smiled. He bent down, grabbed the cow's udders, and milked the cow for all she was worth.

Jack rose with a pale full of milk and a grin on his face. "Good girl." He patted Karen on the back and walked over to the nearby shipping bin, deposited the milk in it, and whistled for Thunder.

While waiting for Thunder to reach him, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a rumpled piece of paper. It was ripped in many places, and was only being held together by tape.

He read it quietly like he did many times every day. He could recite it from memory in three different languages if he wanted, but just to see her handwriting…

_Jack,_

_By the time you read this, I'll already be on the ferry or maybe even in the city._

_I'm sorry that it had to come to this, Jack. I love you, I really do, but I just couldn't be with you any longer. It hurt too much._

_I can't thank you enough for everything you did for me. When I sprained my ankle, you were there. When my father abused me, you were there. When our friends, one by one, decided to trust in your God, you were there the whole time. Even when you yourself decided to put your trust in God, you were there for ME. You will never know how much that means to me._

_But you've given me something that outweighs everything else. You gave me love. In the midst of my attitudes and times of frustration, you never flinched. You were always willing to press forward and be my friend, no matter what._

_Please know this. I will always love you. My love for you will never end. If fate has her way, maybe we'll see each other again. If not than I'll die single._

Jack winced, but continued.

_I wish you a good luck with your new life. You sound happy with your God._

_Please don't follow me. I need to do this on my own, and I'll never be able to do it if you are there trying to get me to come back the whole time._

_Love,_

_Karen_

"Sara! Are you up yet?" A voice awakened a young woman about the age of twenty-four and she rose from her bed. "I'll be right down, Aunt Patrice!" she called before undressing from her sleeping clothes.

While hastily dressing, Sara Dickens looked out of her window and into the streets of New York City and sighed.

She lived on the fifteenth floor of a large apartment complex off of a busy street that was currently packed with many cars.

Directly across from her building was another one just like it.

Three years before, Sara was involved in an accident that wiped out her memories. The doctors called it amnesia. Sara called it hell.

To top it all off, her aunt Patrice had adamantly refused to tell her much of anything about her past, other than the fact that her parents had died in the accident, a car wreck. She said that her parents' names were Gwen and John Slone.

Patrice said that she wouldn't tell Sara much because she was trying to protect her. Sara didn't buy it though.

The doctors had said that telling Sara more about her past may dredge up forgotten memories and help her regain her past life. Patrice said that she loved her, but Sara really thought that she was hiding something. Something important.

Sara walked over to her mirror and started combing through her black hair and green bangs.

After doing that, she placed the brush down on her dresser and just stared into her reflection in the mirror in hopes of finding something, _anything_, from her past.

She had done this every morning for the last three years. It had become a bitter ritual that had not gotten her anything but more heartache and desperation for her memories.

After three years, she still knew virtually _nothing_ about her past. She didn't know where she lived or who her friends were. She didn't know about any other family other than her aunt and her deceased parents.

No, Patrice had done a good job of hiding that from her.

And now… now Sara was a lonely girl without a past and, as it looked, without a future. She had little education that she remembered. She had to be re-taught many of the basics through the advanced. Patrice had once been a teacher, so she taught Sara to the best of her abilities.

She didn't know enough to get into collage and even if she did, she didn't have her high school records so it would prove useless to even try.

"_Sara_! Hurry up or we'll miss our plane!" Patrice yelled while banging on her bedroom door.

Patrice was going on a trip to London for the weekend on business and decided that Sara should take some time away from New York to join her. Although Sara didn't really want to go, her aunt wouldn't let her out of it.

Sara sighed and yelled back, "It's a charter! He won't leave without us!" There was a silence until Patrice groaned. "It doesn't matter! We don't want to be late!"

Sara shook her head and grabbed her suitcase and handbag, stuffed the brush into the bag, and opened the door.

If she had known better, she would have grabbed some extra clothes. It was going to be a _long_ trip…

They got into a cab and began the long drive out of the city and to the private airstrip where the pilot of the airplane awaited.

Jack nearly cursed when he saw what time it was. He couldn't believe he had wasted so much time that day!

He quickly got dressed in his black suit and ran outside his house.

He whistled for Thunder and when the horse got to him, he climbed onto his back and sped down the road and in the direction of the mountain.

He rode Thunder through the meadow and didn't even slow as he reached the trail that lead up the mountain. He took the sharp turns at such speed that would make the most experienced horseback rider wince in fear. But, Thunder wasn't the overall winner of the Flowerbud Horse Race three times in a row for nothing!

The horse's hoofs made a sound like thunder as they slammed onto the bridge that led across the large gap and onto the other side of the mountain. The church was now in view.

Cliff watched in annoyance as Jack burst in through the double doors of the newly renovated church and into the sanctuary, where every head turned to look at him.

Jack merely smiled sheepishly and walked down the aisle in a dignified fashion.

When he reached where Cliff and Ann stood, along with the various bridesmaids and groomsmen, Cliff quietly hissed to Jack, "If it wasn't my wedding…" Jack smiled sheepishly once more and took his place behind Cliff as the best man.

The pastor of the church, an older man that had arrived at Flowerbud just a few months before named John Carter, cleared his throat. "Well, seeing how everybody is here, we may continue." He winked at Jack before looking back at Cliff and Ann.

"Dearly beloved…" The pastor started.

Sara groaned as another businessman's son kissed her hand. _Come on, people! Haven't you ever seen a lady before?!_ She wanted to scream. She was sick of the royal treatment she had been receiving and was almost ready to let her feeling known to all of London!

The way these slick men acted, it was as if she was a prize to be won! They treated her like she was a princess and they were her suitors!

The businessman's son introduced himself as Roy Charles and Sara did the same only with much less enthusiasm.

From there, Roy began talking about himself while Sara merely pretended to listen. In reality, she was looking for the quickest exit from the building she was in.

She found it seconds later.

A large woman entered the room from a nearby bathroom. She was large enough that she had to open the bathroom door all the way to exit. In doing so, Sara was able to see a single window in the bathroom. A tree was right next to it.

While Roy spoke about the large amounts of money he had made in the last year, Sara simply walked away without an explanation and into the bathroom, leaving a flabbergasted Roy behind.

Sara breathed a sigh of relief as she hopped down from the low tree branch and onto the grass below. She ignored the looks of confusion from the people around her as she walked out onto the sidewalk that lined many shops.

She walked along in wonder at the beautiful city. Well, she would have if she hadn't been on the constant lookout for some pervert to harass her. She kept her right hand hear her loose pants pocket where a small can of mace rested.

In New York, many a thief would try to mug her and sometimes even go so far as try to rape her, but that can of mace had always pulled through in the end. Nobody ever got Sara's money! _Nobody_!

She was also skilled in karate and other self-defense tactics. No, if someone tried to attack her, they would be in for the fight of their life!

Sara finally stopped walking and went into a clothing store. Inside she was pleased to see racks upon racks of British-made clothes.

Inside were a thin woman and a very tall and muscular man with a loud voice.

"So! What d'ya say we go out? I know some pretty good restaurants around town!" The man bellowed. The woman shook her head, "I told you—Zach, was it? —I already _have_ a boyfriend!" Zach's shoulders sagged, "Yeah, yeah, okay then. I'll see you around."

Zach turned around and eyed Sara, who had just come in. "Do I know you from somewhere?" He asked. Sara smirked, "I don't think so. I don't even live in London!" Zach nodded slowly. "Neither do I. I just come here for my job. I actually live in a small island off the coast of New York. Flowerbud Island. I'm the shipper there." Sara raised an eyebrow. "Shipper?"

Zach shrugged. "It's a farming island. There's only one farm though… but anyway! I ship the produce that comes from the farm here. I usually don't travel to London, but I needed to check up on some things and try to smooth out a mistake I made last month."

Sara smiled politely, "Well, that sounds important so I'll just let you go on your—"

"Are you sure I don't know you from somewhere? Have you ever been to Flowerbud before?" Zach interrupted. Sara frowned. "No, I haven't. I've never even heard of it before." Zach shrugged and left without another word.

Sara frowned once more. "How rude can he get?" She wondered aloud, ignoring the stifled laugh from the small woman.

Jack sighed as he stepped into the large spa built into the mountain. Memories of the last three years flooded his mind as he soaked in the nearly uncomfortably hot water.

The first year without Karen had by far been the hardest. The pain was still very fresh. But his friends had greatly helped him through the initial pain. That and with the help of God Himself, Jack had been able to break through the early torture and set his life back on track.

That first year though was not only a year of mourning. It was also a year of joy as the Army gained seven new members. Not to mention the village had gained a few more members, three of which were already born again Christians.

That first year had also been a year of fear, mainly because there were some villagers who were becoming a little bit suspicious of the large gatherings Rick would have in his house.

It was until the second year though that the Army was exposed to the village.

The first few months after that event had been a little bit dangerous as Goddess fanatics would often try to get back at the 'traitors'. Jack's farm had been disfigured at least three times in those first few months.

But soon the hardened feelings smoothened out and the members of the Army were once again accepted.

By the end of the second year, many more villagers were converted to Christianity and a project to rebuild the Christian church on the mountainside was started.

By then, nearly half of the village was Christian while the other half still worshipped the Goddess.

The church was completed in the beginning of the third year with Karen. For a few weeks, the villagers would simply share whatever God put on their hearts until John Carter finally arrived at the village and took over the pastoral job.

Even more people were won to Christ during that year, taking the total number of Christians nineteen. The Goddess worshipers were the number of sixteen. Then there were also the 'neutrals' as they had become to be called. These were mostly made up of newer villagers that came to live in Flowerbud sometime in the last three years. There were about ten of these people.

Jack rose from the hot springs, and wrapped a towel around his waist. He got out of the hot water and walked over to where his clothes were hanging.

He quickly dressed himself, and unlocked the door to the hot spring and stepped out into the cool night air…

Only to nearly bump into a blonde-headed girl by the name of Erica. "Why, Jack! I didn't see you there!" She yelped.

Jack fought the urge to roll his eyes. Erica had come to the village earlier that year and had been trying to win over Jack's heart ever since. She was one of the _neutrals_ and an obstinate one at that. Unlike most of the others, she refused to even _listen_.

She was a very nice girl though. In personality _and_ looks. Any normal boy would be attracted to her, but Jack… Jack was in love with someone who died three years before.

Karen may have died, but Jack's heart refused to let go. Even after three years, he still loved her and even worse, his love was still growing. Every day away from her made his heart ache for her presence more and more.

"Jack?" Erica asked. Jack snapped out of his memory. "Hmm?" She smirked. "You weren't even listening, were you?" Jacks smiled sheepishly but didn't reply.

Erica sighed. "I was asking if you wanted to join me for a… _dip_." Jack nearly groaned aloud but he was able to keep inside for later use. "I just _took_ a dip. I'm tired now and I'm going home."

He began the short trek home but Erica's voice stopped him. "She's never coming back, you know." Jack gritted his teeth and tried to keep his voice even. "What makes you think this is about… _her_?"

Jack could feel Erica's smirk from behind him. "She's gone, Jack. Why keep holding onto her? Why not just let her go?" Jack's fingers closed into a fist and it was so tight that his hand began shaking uncontrollably.

"I'm going… _home_, Erica. I'll see you later." Jack walked home stiffly, resisting the urge to scream out loud.

Erica stayed behind, her smirk melted away into a look of depression. "Jack… can't you see? Can't you see what she's doing to you? Why can't you just let go?"

She turned back to the hot spring and looked at it for a few moments before sighing and walking back down the mountain path. She no longer felt like a dip…


	3. Raging Storm

**Chapter 2: Raging Storm**

"What were you thinking?" Patrice demanded as she shoved the rest of her clothes into her suitcase and slammed it shut.

Sara sighed, "I was thinking, Aunt Patrice, that I was not needed at the time! In fact, I wasn't needed for this trip _at all_!"

Patrice's mouth dropped. "Sara! I brought you on this trip to get you away from the city! It was supposed to be a—"

"Vacation?" Sara finished. "Aunt Patrice, vacations are supposed to be _fun_! Now, granted, a trip to London would usually classify as a vacation, but it doesn't if we're stuck in a building talking to a bunch of rich…" Sara searched for the right word. "_Snobs_!"

Patrice sighed heavily and put a hand loosely on her forehead. "Sara, you really embarrassed me back there!" She stated. Sara sighed. "I'm sorry that you had to make up some excuse for my disappearance and such, but I'm _not_ sorry that I left. I couldn't take my hand being kissed _one more time_ by some rich guy's son."

Patrice smiled warmly. "Okay, point taken. Next time… next time, no business." Sara smiled back and finished putting her clothes neatly into her own suitcase. "Deal."

"They _were_ kind of snobbish, weren't they?" Patrice added with a smirk. Sara laughed loudly before throwing a pillow at her aunt. "_I'm_ the one that bore the brunt of it." She stated as-a-matter-of-factly.

Patrice looked at her watch. "Come on now, we don't want to miss our plane." Sara laughed once more. "It's a _charter_! He won't be leaving without us!" She stated before following Patrice from the hotel room.

Turbulence rocked the plane once more and Sara fought the urge to throw up. Patrice put a hand on her shoulder. "It'll all be over soon. Once we're through this accursed storm, it'll be clear sailing." Sara rolled her eyes. "_Flying_, Aunt Patrice."

Her aunt merely laughed. "Flying. Sailing. What's the difference?" Sara was about to reply when a masculine voice interrupted.

"Flying is in the sky." Patrice and Sara turned to face the co-pilot of the luxurious jet. Patrice waved him off before turning back to the book in her lap.

Sara looked at the co-pilot. "How much longer will we be flying in this storm?" The man sighed. "That's… actually why I came back here. Come to find out, we're just on the outskirts of the storm." Sara sighed in relief, but that all changed when he continued.

"We're actually heading right into the core of the storm." Sara froze and Patrice looked up from her book. "What do you mean?" She demanded. The co-pilot sighed once more. "It means we have two choices. We can try to brave the storm or we can try to touch down on an island near the core and stay there until the storm's passed."

Patrice frowned. "Well, we're pretty close to the city. Can we go straight through and make it safely, or could we even go _around_ the storm?" The man shook his head. "We don't have enough fuel to go around. This storm is actually pretty large. And we can't go through it either."

"But I thought you said—" Patrice started, but the co-pilot cut her off. "We _do_ have two choices. We're just taking the safer one." Before Patrice could say anything else, the man turned around and started walking back to the cockpit.

Before leaving the room, he turned once more and said, "You'd better get buckled up. It's going to be a bumpy ride. We arrive at Flowerbud Island in one hour."

Patrice's breath got short and quick. "F—Flowerbud?" The man nodded once before walking into the cockpit.

Meanwhile, Patrice could hardly breathe. Sara noticed this and looked quizzically at her aunt. "Aunt Patrice? Are you okay? You heard him; we're taking the safer choice! We'll be fine!" Patrice looked at her niece and sighed. _If only you knew why I was so worried about… Flowerbud._ She said to herself but aloud she said. "Yes, yes… you're right. We'll all be… fine."

"You should have told them about the fact that the island has no landing strip." Said the pilot of the plane. The co-pilot shrugged, "I figured they didn't need to be worried about such a thing. I told them to buckle up, so they should be fine."

The pilot snorted. "They're paying us, you know. They deserve the right to know." The co-pilot shrugged once more and said, "Let's just do this and get it over with."

Forty-five minutes, the island of Flowerbud was in sight. The pilots scoured the island for a strip of some sort to land. After seeing none, they began looking for a clearing of some sort. No such luck.

"Well, the island's a farming island. They have to have a farm _somewhere_. We'll just land…" The pilot said before pointing to a section of the island where what looked like corn covered. "Right there. It'll be a rough landing, but if we play this right, we _should_ be able to make it out without a scratch. The plane on the other hand…" He sighed. "I'm glad I got that pricey insurance. I'm going to need it after this."

Jack groaned as he watched from his window as the rain came down in torrents. "If this doesn't let up soon, my fields are going to flood!" His dog, Taco the Chihuahua whined. "Just like two years ago, huh, bud?" The young farmer said with a wince.

Two years ago, there had been a terrible flood. The flood washed away a lot of his crops and had done serious damage to some of the town's buildings. In that year, Jack had to take in a few of the villagers for a few weeks while their respective houses were being repaired.

Jack groaned once more when he remembered the incident with Popuri when he had walked in on her when she was toweling herself off in his bathroom. Thankfully, he hadn't seen anything that she would want seen, but the embarrassment was enough for him to avoid her for the next week.

Jack's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of metal bending and breaking. His gaze turned towards the outside and his eyes widened. Not too far away, a white object jutted up from the cornfield.

Upon closer inspection, Jack saw that it was actually the wing of the plane that was rising above his corn.

At the low angle the wing was positioned, he guessed that the plane was not on its side, but was just leaning on its other wing.

That's when realization set in. _There's a plane in my field!_ Jack screamed to himself.

Within seconds he was outside in the rain and pounding away at the small numbers on the cellular phone he had received for his birthday just that year.

He put the phone to his ear and listened as it rang. Finally, there was a click and Cliff's voice was heard through the earpiece. _"Hello?"_

Jack wasted no time with formalities. "Cliff, get yourself, Gray, and Doug over here _now_! A plane just crashed in my _field_!" There was another click and Jack guessed that Cliff had just hung up to round up the men who lived at Green Ranch.

Jack reached the plane minutes later and he winced at the damage.

The nose of the plane was horribly disfigured and bent upward. One of the wings, the one that the plane leaned upon, had been nearly snapped in half. The tail to the plane was in similar condition of the wing: nearly gone. The landing gear was just gone, in its place were the metal stumps where the steel had snapped and the wheels had used to be.

Jack quickly decided to go in through the huge gaping hole in the back of the plane, where the tail had been half-ripped away and was hanging to the side.

Lightning flashed outside and illuminated the plane for a second. It wasn't much but it was enough for Jack to see where he was and that he was heading straight for a chair.

He quickly corrected his direction and just barely brushed against the said seat and continued down the aisle.

Another bolt of lightning, this time it seemed closer, flashed and Jack was momentarily blinded, but not before he could catch a glimpse of two figures who were slumped over the seats in front of him.

Jack walked a little bit closer and kneeled down the first. She was an older lady, not so old to be considered frail, but maybe in her higher forties or maybe low fifties.

Jack pressed his thumb to her neck and felt for a pulse. There was one and it was going strong. He could also hear her heavy breathing when the thunder let up for a moment.

He rose to his feet and walked over to the other person, also a girl. In the darkness, he couldn't make out her features very well. He guessed though that she was very beautiful.

Another bolt of lightning flashed and her features were burned into Jack's mind, but before he could contemplate them, a voice cried out from farther into the plane.

Jack looked towards the cockpit. "I'll be there in just a second!" He called out before kneeling beside this girl.

He felt her neck for a pulse and nearly sighed in relief. It too, just like the other passenger was strong.

He rose once more and began walking towards the cockpit, all the while remembering the girl's features in his mind. _So familiar…_ He thought to himself.

He walked into the cockpit and was confronted with the sight of sparks rising from the damaged instruments. It was obvious that this plane would never fly again.

A moan escaped from the pilot of the plane and Jack rushed to his side. "Are you okay?" He asked. The pilot groaned once more. "Sorry about the… corn." He said with a harsh laugh. Jack smirked. "Don't worry about it. We have to worry about getting you out of here first. Are you hurt in any way?"

The man groaned. "I'm hurt _everywhere_. But… I think my right leg's broken." Jack nodded slowly, "Okay. I have a few friends coming by. They should have a stretcher to carry you out of here."

Jack turned to the second man in the cockpit, the co-pilot. He did not move and Jack feared the worse. He pressed his thumb against the man's neck and grimaced. The co-pilot was dead.

"_Jack_!" Jack spun around at the sound of his name and he was greeted with the sight of Cliff and Gray walking up the aisle, a stretcher in their hands. Doug was right behind them.

"Hey, I need a stretcher up here! Watch out for the—" There was a low _thump_ as the large stretcher hit the younger girl in the back of the head. Jack winced and was surprised to hear a low curse follow. It took him a few seconds to realize it, but the curse originated from the girl herself!

"Hey! What was that?" The girl demanded. _That voice, it sounds like… _Jack's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Cliff apologizing to the girl and turning the stretcher sideways to accommodate the thin aisle better.

Jack resisted the urge to come up with some witty comment about hitting on girls and the four got to work lifting the pilot from his seat and onto the stretcher. "Take him back to the house, I'll get the others out of here."

Gray and Cliff put a small tarp over the pilot to protect him from the rain and left the plane, careful not to hit the girl again. Doug stayed behind just in case Jack needed any help.

Jack hurried over to the now awake girl and helped her up out of her seat. She stood on wobbly feet and nearly toppled over. Jack caught her in time and swung her arm over his shoulder.

"Easy. You're still weak from the crash." There was a silence for a few seconds before the girl asked. "Crash?" Jack was once again overcome by how familiar the voice was.

He was about to reply but the girl suddenly gasped. "My aunt." She tried to run to where her aunt was slumped over her chair, but Jack grabbed her shoulder and stopped her from falling flat on her face. "She's fine. Just knocked out. Come on, we have to get you out of here."

He pulled the jacket off of himself and wrapped it around the girl, pulling the hood over her face to protect her from the rain.

"Doug! Can you get her?" Jack asked indicating the unconscious lady. Doug began unbuckling the woman's seatbelt. When he was done, he lifted her into his arms with a soft grunt and began walking back out of the plane, Jack, with the girl, on his heals.

The storm had let up some so the four were able to get back to the house a little bit less wet than they had thought they would. They were still drenched, but they wouldn't be catching pneumonia.

Doug kicked the door some, prompting Gray to open the front door, letting him and the woman inside. Jack and the girl followed.

Jack quickly sat the girl down on a chair and rushed over to the pilot, not bothering to look closely at her face, which was partially hidden by the hood of his jacket.

He heard her pull the hood back, but paid no attention as he began recalling all his past first-aid training he had received two years earlier after the flood.

He was about to start helping Cliff and Gray but noticed they weren't doing anything at all but just staring at something behind him.

"Hey, guys? What are you—" Jack turned around to see what they were looking at.

They were looking at the girl that Jack had brought in. The girl that was so familiar. The girl that Jack _knew_ he had seen before.

_The face. The voice. The hair. The body. It all fits._ He thought to himself before his eyes widened and he promptly blacked out.

Sara wracked her mind for where she knew the now unconscious boy. _He's so familiar!_ She screamed in her mind, but every time she tried to remember who he was, her mind just came up blank! _I **know** I know him…_

Sara noticed the other people in the room at that moment. Every single one who was conscious at the moment, not including the pilot, stared at her as if they had just seen a ghost.

"What?" She demanded. One of the men, the one with brown hair with a blonde ponytail spoke up in a shaky voice. "K—Karen?"

_That name… it sound so… right… _Sara thought to herself before promptly blacking out also, but just from exhaustion.

While she slept, she dreamt. She dreamt of life back in New York City. She dreamt of her aunt and how she and her would seem to complete each other. Each of them had their own strengths and weaknesses and they would balance each other out.

But most of all, she dreamt of a strange building. A building with benches, no, _pews _creating an aisle down the middle. The aisle reached all the way to a raised platform, a pulpit. Upon the pulpit was a simple statue.

It was a statue of a woman in a flowing dress. It was easy to see that if she were real, she would be very beautiful.

Her hair was tied into two buns, each at the side of her head. Her face, nose, and figure were all perfect. Simply perfect.

But her eyes sent shivers down Sara's back. They glowed a deep red color. They looked… evil.

An eerie voice pierced the silent room and Sara jumped. "Come back to me, my daughter. Come back to your roots and you shall know _who you are_…"

The room seemed to darken and Sara shivered from the cold that she had not felt before. Why did this dream seem so real?

Suddenly, they coolness of the room left as quickly as it had come and the room seemed to brighten with an unearthly glow. Sara found out why seconds later.

Beside her stood a shining figure. The light seemed to come straight from his very skin and Sara could just barely look at the person.

Slowly but surely, the light coming from the figure dimmed but the room's light stayed bright.

When the light was dim enough that she could see whom the person was, she found that she was looking at the man who had blacked out back at his house.

"She's lying, you know." He said calmly. Regardless of the calm in his voice though, Sara jumped again.

"What do you mean?" She asked. The boy looked at her, straight into her eyes, and Sara nearly stumbled backwards. She _knew_ those eyes.

_FLASH!_ Sara was suddenly at a small beach. She was standing on a dock, the boy stood next to her. In his eyes was unimaginable pain. She had hurt him in some way. After looking in his eyes for a few more seconds, she spun around and looked back towards a rock wall.

"For a moment there, I actually thought _you_ might be the one, Jack." She said, although Sara didn't know why. She didn't even mean to say anything!

_FLASH!_ Sara was back in the strange building and she was once again staring into the boy's eyes.

"She's a liar. Don't trust her at all. She says she's the Goddess of this world, but, in reality, she's the Prince of Darkness' minion. She's a follower of Satan." The boy said. "Satan? Goddess? Prince of Darkness? What does it all mean?" He smiled. "Why don't you just ask me?"

"But I just—" Then everything went black.


	4. Desperation

**Chapter 3: Desperation**

"…sorry, but she is _not_ your girlfriend." Sara heard as consciousness returned to her.

Her eyes fluttered open and she saw her aunt Patrice and the mysterious boy from her dream talking quietly.

"Are you absolutely sure? I mean, she's spitting image of Karen! And you yourself said that she's had amnesia for the last three years! That when Karen's fer—"

"She was in a terrible car wreck with her parents. Her parents were killed in the wreck and she was stuck with a lost memory." Patrice cut him off.

"I… I still can't help but to think about how…" Patrice sighed heavily. "I understand your feelings. I know how it is to lose a loved one, but she is _not_ your Karen. Her name is Sara Dickens. She is my niece. _Not_ Karen. And I'd appreciate it that you don't go trying to get her to remember memories that aren't there. She's been under a lot of stress lately and that's the _last_ thing she needs."

Sara sat up slowly and all eyes in the room were immediately on her. Patrice stood and walked over to the bed she was lying in. "Sara, honey? Are you all right?" She asked.

Sara looked at her in confusion as the drowsiness of her slumber wore off. "W-where are we?" Patrice smiled warmly but it didn't reach her eyes. "We're in… a place called Flowerbud Village. Do you remember what happened last night?"

Memories of the night invaded Sara's mind and she almost groaned out loud. "Yeah. We crashed." Patrice sighed. "Yes, we did."

Sara's eyes met the boy's eyes. He smiled softly but his eyes showed a battle being waged in his head. "And you are…?" She asked.

He walked up to her and held out his hand. "I'm Jack. Jack Williams." She noticed how much the name sounded familiar. "Williams… where have I heard that before?"

Jack's eyes widened and he was about to speak but her aunt cut in. "Williams is a common name. I do not believe you've ever met him." Jack nearly sighed and he turned away. "Yeah, she's probably right. Williams _is_ a common name." He walked off toward his kitchen, presumably to make breakfast.

"Is he okay?" asked Sara. Patrice sighed. "No. I do not believe he is. He has a broken heart, you see." Sara looked at her in confusion but then she remembered the conversation she had heard. She decided not to press the issue.

There was loud rap on Jack's door and he burst from the kitchen. He ran across the room and opened the door. In the doorway was a red-headed girl who was out of breath.

"I just heard from Cliff! Is it—"

"No." Jack said solemnly. "She's just… a look-alike." Ann's features grew dim. "For a second I thought…" Jack nodded and gave her a friendly hug. "Yeah, me too."

They parted and Ann said, "Mind if I see her?" Jack nodded slowly and moved away from the doorway so that Ann could come inside.

Ann let out a silent gasp when she saw the girl sitting on Jack's bed. "She looks so…" She whispered to herself.

She immediately put on a bubbly expression and walked quickly over to the two women sitting on the bed. "Hi! I'm Ann!" She said with a smile.

Patrice politely shook Ann's hand. "My name is Patrice Dickens and this is—"

"Sara Dickens." Sara said. Ann eyed her carefully and stuck out her hand for her to shake. Sara shook her hand politely.

"Um… excuse me." Ann said and she walked into Jack's kitchen. Seconds later, she stuck her head back out. "Jack? Wanna give me a hand in here?"

Jack looked at her strangely. "_You_ aren't making breakfast! I've tasted your—"

"Just get in here!" Ann aid, her voice rising. Jack quickly complied and she shut the door behind him.

"What are you doing?" He asked. Ann sighed heavily. "She _has_ to be Karen! She even has the voice!" Jack sighed. "No. She isn't. From what Patrice tells me, her parents were killed three years ago in a car accident. She was also in the car and she's amnesiac."

Ann crossed her arms across her chest. "And you believe that?" Jack looked at her strangely. "Why wouldn't I?" Ann sighed. "Jack, she's hiding something!"

"How do you know?" Now Jack was interested. Ann sighed. "I saw it. In her eyes, I mean. She's lying about something and I'm going to find out exactly _what_ it is."

Sara looked at Patrice. "Aunt Patrice?" Her aunt looked at her. "Yes, dear?"

"I…" Sara started. "I need to get some air." Patrice looked at her strangely. "Are you feeling all right?" Sara nodded. "Yes, I just need to get some air." Her aunt sighed. "Yes, fine. Just don't wander."

Sara nodded, pulled on her shoes, and began for the front door. Patrice's voice stopped her before she could exit though. "And don't… don't talk to any strangers." Sara gave her and strange look and left the house.

She was greeted by a beautiful view of a huge field of corn. To her left, there was a field of long grass where multiple cows and sheep were grazing. Clucking chickens were also heard.

A small dog, a Chihuahua, ran over to her and began sniffing her feet. Sara bent down and began petting the small dog. "Hello! Why, you're a cutie, what's your name?" The Chihuahua barked a reply and began running around her.

"His name is Taco." A soft voice said from behind her. Sara jumped visibly and turned around to see Jack standing outside his door.

He walked closer to her and let loose a shrill whistle that made Sara wince. A large chestnut colored horse ran over to the two and snorted. "And this…" Jack said as he grabbed a brush from his rucksack and began brushing the horse. "Is Thunder."

Sara watched in awe at the large animal. "He's… beautiful!" Jack smiled softly at her. "Yeah… and he's the winner of the Horse Race a few times in a row now."

"You're kind of quiet, aren't you." Sara blurted out. Jack looked back at her and smiled. "No… not really, it's just… did your aunt fill you on what's going on for me?"

Sara sighed. "No, but I heard some when I woke up. So I look like your old girlfriend, is it?"

Jack smiled warmly. "She was… she was more than my girlfriend. She was a gift straight from God. My soul mate."

"It sounds like you really loved her." Jack nodded slowly. "Do you mind if I ask what happened?"

Jack smiled once again and began. "I guess I should tell you my story here.

"Three years ago, early spring, my grandfather, the former owner of this farm died and for some unknown reason, he left me the farm. So, I accepted and moved here from New York to well… farm!"

"Oh! I live in New York!" Sara said. Jack smiled and nodded. "Anyway, soon I found out some things about this village. First of all, it's got some strange people and secondly… it has its own religion. It's a religion that follows a… 'goddess'. The people here are very adamant about leaving that faith, _especially_ Karen.

"But, back then, I couldn't care less about some 'religion'. I had more important things on my mind. Like how I, a city boy, was going to manage a farm by myself.

"Well, through a series of strange occurrences, such as her slamming a door into me and me accidentally spraining her ankle by bumping into her, we became good friends.

"But that friendship soon spawned a relationship." Jack sighed heavily before continuing.

"Well, Karen was about the most zealous of all the Goddess followers. She believed that any other faith or belief was evil and should be abolished.

"And when I… when I became a Christian, it shook the very foundations of our relationship.

"Let me give you a bit of background here. It's always been her dream to travel to New York and hit it big on Broadway. It's been her dream since she was a little girl. And when I became a Christian, she decided that she would follow her dream and she left on the first ferry that became available.

"Well, that day, there was a terrible storm and the ferry was sunk. The captain was found dead, but her body had never been recovered."

Sara was silent for a few minutes. "Did you ever think that maybe… she's still alive?" Jack nodded slowly. "Yeah. I had hoped for that for a long time and when I saw you…" He trailed off, remembering what her aunt had said.

"So I look like her?" Sara stated plainly. Jack looked up at her and nodded. "You're practically her twin. Would you like to see a picture?" Sara nodded and Jack reached into his pocket to pull out his wallet.

He opened it up and pulled a picture out of one of the pockets. It was a picture of four people. One person was Jack. There was also Ann and the boy that Sara had seen the other night. And then there was another girl.

She was a girl who would look _exactly_ like Sara, if it weren't for her hair. Instead of black and green, like Sara had, it was brown and blonde.

Sara gasped slightly and pulled back as if she had been hit. Jack looked up at her quizzically. "She looks just like me!" Sara cried softly.

Jack's eyes narrowed. "Tell me, Sara. Did you ever have brown hair?" It was a question that normally Sara would have no problem with but this time her eyes widened. "I… yes. My hair used to be brown and…"

"Your bangs were blonde?" Jack finished softly. Sara looked up at him and nodded slowly. "Yes…"

Jack's breath came in short and he got dizzy. "It's not possible…" He whispered quietly. "You're right. It's not." Sara stated just as quietly. "I mean, my parents lived in California! How is it possible that _I_ could be this… Karen?"

Jack looked back up at her, his vision blurring slightly as forgotten tears sprang back to life. "Do you remember anything about your parents? Anything?" Sara didn't answer but her expression gave it all away. She didn't have a _sliver_ of a memory.

"But why would my aunt hide this from me? If I was Karen, I mean." She wondered out loud. Jack sighed, "I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong! Maybe it's just some cosmic coincidence!"

Sara looked at him quizzically. "You don't even believe that." She stated plainly. Jack sighed again. "No. I don't. But it's just… how _is_ it possible? I mean, Karen _died_! Now that I think about it, I must have been _crazy_ to even think it in the first place!"

Sara put a hand on his shoulder. "Stop it. You aren't crazy! You loved her a lot! I can't believe you're taking this so calmly!"

Jack gently pulled her hand off his shoulder and stood. "I need to get to work. Make yourself at home. I'll be back… soon."

Jack rode Thunder as fast as he could towards the mountain. Tears streamed down his cheeks and onto his clothes and Thunder's chestnut fur.

He took the sharp corners up the mountain as fast as he dared. Faster than he had ever taken them before. He no longer cared about the danger. He cared about very little at that moment.

Thunder's hoofs slipped slightly on the loose dirt, but he held fast and together, the two stormed across the wooden bridge.

Jack finally stopped the tired horse in front of the church. He swung off Thunder and landed onto the cobblestone pathway that led into the building of God.

The doors to the church swung open and Jack walked into slowly, as if every step was heavier and heavier. The look on his face supported that.

"Pastor?" He called our hoarsely. There was no answer. "Pastor Carter!" There was silence.

Jack sighed heavily and walked up to the pulpit. Once he reached the edge of the raised platform, he fell to his knees, ignoring the sharp pain that shot up his legs and hips, and let loose a loud wail that would have made even the strongest person wince.

"God!" He cried loudly. "Why is this happening to me? Haven't I been tortured enough in my life? First my mother then Karen! And now… now _this_! Why do you dangle this bit of hope in front of my face? _Am I a cat?!_ Am I destined for pain all my life? If that is so, just let me _die_! God, I'd… I'd rather die than go through this again! I can't _lose_ her again, God!"

Jack sat at the altar for what seemed to be a long time, just weeping. Finally, after about an hour, he stood and turned around only to fall back onto the platform in surprise.

There, standing right in front of him, was a large man. The man was clothed in white robes that seemed to shine with an unearthly light. He was maybe eight feet tall and he was well built.

His skin seemed to glow with the same light as his clothes, and to look into his face was nearly impossible because of the brightness of the light.

Jack trembled at the sight of the man and it took him a long time to find his voice. Finally, he managed to utter a quiet, "W—who are you?"

The man looked down at him and Jack was forced to look away from the blinding light. "My name is of no importance. " He began. "I am a messenger from the Lord of Hosts and I bring a message to you."

Jack stiffened. "Is this… real?" He reached out tentatively and touched the man's arm. The second his fingertips touched the shining arm, a shock flowed into his arm and he jerked his hand back. Not in pain, but just in surprise.

The man, an angel, looked down at Jack's hand and he reached out to touch it as well. This time, the touch did not shock Jack but it caused a strange warmth to spread throughout him. Comfort and courage coursed through Jack's veins and the former fear and pain were replaced by the strength that only God could give.

"Listen to what the Lord your God has to say." The angel said suddenly after removing his hand from Jack's arm. "My son, I have heard your prayers and they _will_ be answered. But be patient and wait on Me. Just trust me and see my _wonders_. You will love again. But until you do, keep following me."

Jack rode Thunder down the mountain much more slowly and safely. Instead of the sound of thunder when he crossed the bridge, there was just the familiar _clip-clop_ sound of hooves on wooden.

"I will love again? What… what does that mean?" He whispered to himself during the ride. "Will I fall in love with someone else? But I don't…" He sighed heavily and smiled softly. "You're will be done, God. Whatever you have for me, I'm sure it's far greater than anything I could ever have by my own strength."

The ride home went by quickly and soon Jack was entering his farm. He rode Thunder towards his house but he was stopped short by a voice behind him.

"Jack! Hey, Jack!" He winced at Erica's voice, but he decided against being rude and he stopped Thunder and climbed off him.

Erica ran up to him and stopped just a meter or two from him. "Jack! How are you doing? I've been hearing some strange rumors flying around town… something about a plane crashing in your field!"

Jack smirked. "Yeah, the rumor's true. A small plane crashed into my field, taking out a large number of corn stalks. One person is dead, one is injured, and the other two are fine."

She put a hand to her mouth. "D—Dead?" She asked tentatively. Jack nodded. "Yes, and from what I hear, the mayor and some others came by sometime yesterday to pick up the body."

Erica winced and she decided against continuing the conversation. Instead, she decided to ask him about the _other_ rumor.

"So, who are the two people?" Jack heard her say quietly, as if she didn't actually want to ask.

He opened his mouth to reply, but he was cut short by the sound of a door opening behind him.

"_God_, Aunt Patrice! What is your problem? I'm an _adult_! What is wrong with taking a walk through town?" Sara yelled angrily back into the house before slamming the door shut and walking out into Jack's yard.

She stopped when she saw Jack and Erica looking at her though. "What are you two staring at?" She demanded.

Jack nearly burst into laughter at Sara's anger. _They're so much alike…_

Erica's eyes widened. She, just as the rest of the villagers had seen Jack's picture of Karen. She had seen it more than most too. And this… this woman looked just like her!

"J—Jack? Is she…?" She asked quietly. Jack turned to her and smiled. "Erica, meet Sara Dickens." And in a quieter voice that Sara could not hear, he added, "Better known as Karen Roberts."


	5. Deception

**Chapter 4: Deception**

"You told her _what_?" Sara hissed at Jack after Erica left. Jack turned to her. "I told her what I believe: that you _are _Karen!" Sara groaned. "Jack… what were you thinking? I _can't_ be Karen! There's no way!"

Jack crossed his arms across his chest. "Why?" Sara's shook her head. "Because… because…" She paused, trying to think of an answer. "Because… because there's just no way, okay? My aunt wouldn't lie to me like that!" Jack just looked at her and sighed.

Erica ran all the way home. Her mind was completely blank; it hurt too much to even think of anything.

After running a few minutes, tears stung her eyes, but she wasted no time wiping them away. She had to get home as soon as possible.

She burst into the town and kicked up dust as she ran along the dusty rode that led towards the small house near the edge of town, right next to the Mayor's house.

As she ran, many people stopped whatever they were doing to look at the crying girl and Maria even stepped in front of her to stop her and ask what was wrong. If Erica even saw her, she didn't show any recognition, because she just blew past her without even a glance.

That's how it was the entire way. People looked at her strangely and she ignored them; she had to get home. She had to get within the comfort of her room.

Erica's bedroom door flung open and she fell upon her bed, sobs racking her body. A loud wail escaped her lips and she convulsed as her weeping grew.

_WHUMP!_ She slammed her fist down upon her mattress as hard as she could, ignoring the sharp pain that originated from it. "This can't be—" _WHUMP!_ "_happening_!" She cried loudly.

She roared loudly. "I _hate_ you, Karen! Why can't you just stay out of our life?!"

She brought her fist down onto the bed time and time again, venting her anger and… hatred.

"Two _weeks_?" Patrice exclaimed when Jack broke the news to her. "It will be two weeks until the next ferry comes?" Jack nodded and the older woman moaned in frustration.

"This can't be _happening_!" She said softly. Jack sighed. "If you don't mind my asking, what so bad about it? You're welcome here and if you don't want that, the Inn has _plenty_ of rooms!"

"Actually, yes. I _do_ mind your asking." Patrice snapped. "I don't wish to stay here any longer than I have to."

Jack smirked slightly. "I understand, but there's nothing that can be done." Patrice nodded before letting out another quiet moan.

"Listen, I have to go into town for a bit. Will you two be all right for a while?" Jack asked with seemingly genuine concern. Patrice looked up at him and scowled. "We aren't children."

Jack nodded and started for the front door. Before exiting though, he stopped and turned back around. "Do you think you or Sara would enjoy a tour of the town? You'll be here for a while, after all."

Patrice looked up at him. "No. We wouldn't."

"Well, shouldn't you ask—" Jack began, but she cut him off. "No. We do _not_ want a tour!"

The young farmer gave her a sideways glance and shrugged. He walked out seconds later.

Jack walked over to Thunder's stable and let him out. "Come on, boy. Up for a ride?" Thunder snorted a reply. Jack smiled and put the saddle on the horse.

He rode out of his farm only seconds later and turned a sharp left, heading for Green Ranch.

Once he reached the entrance of Green Ranch, he turned left once more and headed down the path for the beach.

Thunder easily jumped the few steps that led down and landed with a thud in the sand. But the large horse didn't lose it balance and continued to run through the sand and towards the nearby dock and the boat parked there…

"Hey, Jack!" Cried the young blonde-haired ferryman when he saw Jack ride up on his horse. Jack got off of Thunder and walked up to him. They embraced tightly and when they let go of each other, Jack asked, "How have you been doing, Sam? Business is good, I hope."

Sam nodded. "Yes, yes, it's going just fine… Oh! Before I forget to mention this, the missus and I are expecting a baby!"

Jack's eyes widened. "_What_? A baby! You were just married a few months ago!"

Sam grinned. "I work fast." Jack raised an eyebrow and Sam's grin only grew.

"So, Jack… Any new prospective women around these parts?" Sam asked, only to be given a surprised glare from Jack. "Sam! You're married!"

Sam let loose a loud guffaw. "I'm asking for _you_, you idiot! I was wondering if _you've_ found anyone yet!" Jack was silent for a few moments, but his face betrayed his feelings.

"That bad, huh?" Sam said softly. Jack sighed and looked at him. "Have you ever loved anyone and then lost that person only to find that she's still around, just out of your reach?" The ferryman just stared at Jack for a few moments. "Um… No. Can't say I have."

Jack nodded. "That's what I'm going through now…"

"Care to talk about it?" Jack shook his head. "No… I'd rather not, if you don't mind."

Sam nodded and stared out at the rolling sea. "I'm going to go on a limb here and say that no one needs to be taxied to the mainland." He stated.

Jack looked at him and, for a second, hesitated. Finally, he answered. "No. We haven't had any visitors for a while now."

Sam nodded and sighed. "I'll see you in a few months then, Jack. Got to go through the ferryman cycle again, ya know? Roberto will be here in another two weeks. And then Michael after him. And then—"

"I get it." Jack cut him off, knowing full well that if he didn't, Sam would have named all the ferrymen off until he got back to himself.

Sam gave him a crooked smile and walked back onto his ferry. "See you in a while, Jack!" From there, he walked into the captain's compartment and the ferry roared to life. It began pulling out and Jack was struck with guilt at his act of deception.

_It's an act of love_. He reasoned with himself as he sat down on the sandy down, his feet hanging over the edge. _Innocent… act of… love._ He sighed and threw a clump of sand into the water. "Then why do I feel so guilty?"

"Have you ever met a woman named Patrice?" Ann asked. Karen's mother, Sasha, looked at her strangely. "Patrice? Well… I have a _sister_ named Patrice! She's my eldest sister!"

Ann's eyes lit up. "Is that right?" Sasha nodded and opened her mouth to speak, but she was cut off as Gotz, Karen's father, came into the house.

"Ann! What brings you here?" He asked in a friendly tone. Ann smiled and shrugged. "Just getting some information!"

Gotz walked over to the two. "What kind of information?" He asked with a smile. Ann's smile didn't falter. "Just asking about some names and such. No biggie."

The large man nodded and Ann walked past him. "Thanks, Misses Roberts!" She exclaimed as she walked. She stopped at the front door and turned around. "Will I be seeing you two at church on Sunday?"

Sasha smiled. "Do we ever miss it?" Gotz finished for her. "Of _course_ we'll be there!" Ann grinned and left the house before she could be drawn into a conversation.

As she walked, she couldn't help but feel like she had just solved the entire mystery.

"So," She said as she walked out of the vineyard and onto the dirt road that led to the Ranch. "Sara is Karen. Patrice is her aunt and also Sasha's sister! Three years ago, Karen was in that storm and somehow she lost her memory. Patrice found her and she—"

"Ann!" She stopped when she saw Jack riding Thunder up to her. He had come from the direction of the Ranch.

"What's up, Jack?" She asked once he stopped beside her. "Um… Nothing much. I was just taking a walk at the beach."

Ann immediately saw that he was lying, but chose not to pursue it. "Well," she began. "If you'd like to know, I believe I've uncovered some evidence for, well… Karen!"

Jack's eyes widened but he didn't reply. Ann continued. "Well, I hear from very reliable sources that Sasha just so happens to have a sister named Patrice!"

Jack didn't reply for a few seconds. When he did, it seemed like it was hard for him to.

"Patrice is… Sasha's… sister?" He jumped down from Thunder's back, former silence replaced with a goofy grin and what looked like tears.

"Do you know what this means?" He said, his grin never leaving his face. He didn't give Ann a chance to reply. "This means that Sara _is_ Karen! There's no doubt! That was the last connection that was needed!"

He rushed forward and embraced Ann. "That's _it_!" He cried as the first tears of joy began to run down his cheeks.

Ann politely pushed him off of her, not because she felt any less ecstatic, but just because she didn't feel like explaining the compromising position to any passersby.

She soon grew sober though and her grin turned into a slight frown. "Don't forget, Jack, that Kar—err… Sara still doesn't remember anything. We can tell her all we want to, but I don't know if it will change anything."

Jack's grin didn't falter. "Ann, let me fill you in on something _I_ found out about our Sara. You know how she has that black and green hair?" Ann nodded. "Well… that's dyed. Coincidentally, her hair used to be brown with blonde bangs. And when I showed her a picture of Karen… well, let's just say that with this new tidbit of information, it won't be hard to convince her of the truth."

Erica finally rose from her bed and left her house a few hours afterward. All evidence of crying was long passed and now she just looked… depressed.

But somewhere in her mind was something that _wasn't_ depressed. It wasn't angry or hating. Instead, it was plotting. It was plotting a plan to get Karen or Sara or whoever she was _out_ of her life once and for all. And get Jack _in_ her life once and for all…

Jack shot up from his bed, feeling a familiar pull to the meadow. _No… I haven't had these dreams for over three years! Not again!_ He cried in his mind.

But it was no use. He had never been able to resist the dream. So, almost mechanically, he rose to his feet, got dressed and left his room and out into his living room where Patrice and Sara slept soundly on their respective cots that Jack had bought years ago for just such an occasion.

He quietly began tiptoeing past them. He was just about past them when Sara shifted in her cot and her hand was flung out. It hit Jack's leg with a _SMACK_ and her eyes opened.

"Jack?" She whispered quietly. "Where are you going?" Jack looked down at her. "I'm… taking a walk. Fresh air."

Sara rose from the cot, dressed in her nightgown. "Let me get dressed and I'll go with you!"

Jack hesitated but then sighed. "If you want to."

Sara smiled in the darkness then walked into the nearby bathroom, only stopping to grab her clothes that she had worn the day before.

The two stepped out of the house minutes later and were greeted with the humid summer air. "Wow, talk about tropical! I can't believe how hot it is! New York isn't too far from here, yet, it _never_ gets like this!" said Sara with a feeling of awe.

Jack smirked. "Welcome to Flowerbud. The place of hot springs and summers, mild falls, and freezing winters.

"Our weather varies more than any other place I've ever been too! Completely uniform. Winter has snow season long. Very few days are seen without a blanket of snow on the ground. Summer is scalding hot and rain is too little."

Sara looked at him. "It's a weird place. But… I find it strangely… satisfying. Comforting, even."

Jack smiled at her. "Yeah, it's what attracted me to this place in the first place."

The two reached the meadow soon after and they felt the difference immediately.

"Brr! When did it get so cold?" Sara asked while rubbing her hands along her shoulders to try to create friction heat.

Jack handed her a jacket that he had brought along. He had known the temperature would drop once they reached the meadow. After all, it did every _other_ time.

Sara accepted the jacket without question and the two continued along the path.

They soon reached the second portion of the meadow and directly in front of them was the Goddess clearing.

Jack turned to Sara and put a finger to his lips. "Shh…" He began creeping closer to the clearing, ignoring the look of surprise from his companion.

He knelt behind a bush and Sara knelt next to him. She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by a voice from the clearing.

It was a familiar voice to Jack. Deep and powerful sounding. He knew it well. It was the voice, the _real_ voice of the Goddess.

"You fool! Do you realize how _much_ you've failed me?" She said angrily. The next voice, a meek sounding man, one Jack now recognized as the pastor of the Goddess church, said, "My Q—Queen! I can't be blamed. It's these accursed Christ—"

The Goddess hissed loudly. "That's where you have failed! If you had done your job and rid me of that original one, we wouldn't be _in_ this mess! But you disobeyed me!"

"N-no! My Queen! I meant to do it, but he expanded his ministry before I had the chance!"

"Shut _up_!" There was a smacking sound and the pastor cried out in pain. "You have failed me for the last time, Brown. You have _one_ more chance to redeem yourself though." She hissed. "Someone has arrived at the village. A visitor, yet… not. _You_ should know her well! _Find_ her and show her my path again!"

"Y-yes, of course! I will not fail you again!"

The Goddess seemed to groan. "You had better not, you sniveling _coward_!" Silence ensued and soon the pastor limped past the two that were kneeling beside the bush. He had a deep gash in his leg that blood poured from, leaving a trail.

Sara looked at Jack, her eyes wide with fear and confusion. "Jack? What was that? And who were they?"

Jack looked at her, sorrow in his eyes. "Those were two very familiar people in this town. One was the pastor of the Goddess church in town. For years, that church was the dominant church but recently, a new church was formed. It's a Christian church and Cliff formed it. You remember him, don't you?"

Sara nodded, "But what about the other one?" Jack stiffened. "She… oh I don't know how to explain this without sounding insane… well, she would be the 'Goddess' of Flowerbud. In reality though, though she's the Prince of Darkness' minion. A follower of Satan. She says she's the ruler of this world, but she's a liar."

Sara looked at him in utter confusion and suddenly the memories of her dream flooded back into her mind like a raging squall. She reached up and grabbed her head. "This can't be happening…" She whispered.

Jack looked at her. "Are you all right?" She looked up at him and sighed. "No. I'll tell you about it but… not here. Let's go back to your farm."

"So, what is it?" Jack asked.

Now the two were perched upon the roof of his house, looking up into the stars.

Sara sighed. "The other day, right after the crash and when I blacked out, I had a dream. In this dream, I was walking through some kind of building. A church, I believe.

"So there I was, in this strange church. The walls were brick and not painted and pews lined the aisle that I stood in.

"In the front of the room was a small platform. A strange statue was on the platform. The statue was of a woman with a flowing dress. The strange part about it was that its eyes were glowing a bright red."

Jack just barely concealed his gasp. She had just described the Goddess! She continued. "Anyway, I heard a strange voice say something like, 'Come back to your roots and find out who you are.'

"The room seemed to darken after that, but soon there was a blinding light that appeared next to me. When the light dimmed, I saw that _you_ were the source of the light!"

Jack looked at her in surprise, but she held up a hand to silence him. "Anyway, you told me that she was lying, and I asked you what you meant. Suddenly, there was a bright flash and I was standing on a beach. I had no control over my body.

"We both were standing on a dock. You had a look of unimaginable pain in your eyes. Then I said…"

Jack looked into her eyes and finished for her. "For a moment there, I actually thought _you_ might be the one, Jack."

Sara froze and stared at him. "How… how did you know that?" Jack sighed heavily. "Because… because I lived it. That was a real event between Karen and me. To make a long story short, I screwed up, accidentally mind you, and she was really hurt by it. I'll… I'll never forget those words. They'll haunt me until I die."

Sara was silent for a few moments. When she did speak, it was in a much quieter tone. "But… why did _I_ see it? I wasn't there!"

The young farmer just looked at her and shrugged, prompting her to continue with her dream. Sara decided to think about it later and continued.

"Well, after that, there was another flash and I was standing in the church again. And then… then you told me the same thing you told me in the meadow. That she was a liar and a follower of Satan.

"After that, I asked you what you meant by that and you told me to ask you!" Sara breathed deeply, glad to be finished with her retelling of her dream. It was getting too weird.

Jack sighed heavily. "Well, how about this. You remind me that in the morning. I'm tired right now and I can hardly think straight."

Sara nodded and leaned up against the shingles on the roof, so she could look up at the stars more clearly.

Jack did the same and sighed heavily. "So, Sara. Have you ever thought about the stars? Do you think that they were made by chance or by a higher being?"


	6. History Always Repeats Itself

**Chapter 5: History Always Repeats Itself**

A rooster's cry awoke Jack. He rose from his bed…

…and nearly fell off the side of his house. "_WHOA_!" He cried as he backed up and fell back onto his rear on the roof.

He breathed heavily and held his chest as his heart raced. That's when it hit him. "It's not possible… it was all a dream! It _had_ to be a dream!" He said quietly, recalling the events of the past night.

But he couldn't deny it. It _wasn't_ a dream. If it were, he would be safe and sound in his bed.

"If it wasn't a dream… Sara!" He looked to his side and found that Sara was not on the roof. His eyes widened and his face paled.

Immediately, he leaned over the side of the house and looked down to the ground below. Sara was nowhere to be found.

He rose again. "Sara?" He called, quietly at first. "Sara?" He called, a little louder this time. When he got no answer, he became desperate. "_Sara_?!"

"What?" He jumped visibly and looked back down towards the lawn. Sara was standing in the dewy grass, looking up at him. "What?" She repeated.

Jack sighed heavily. "For a second, I thought…" He shook it off and smiled. "Never mind."

Sara smirked and held back a laugh. "Why, I'm flattered, Jack! It's nice to know you care! Now… come down from there! Breakfast is cooking and Aunt Patrice would like to have a word with you…"

Jack groaned. "I didn't like the sound of that." Sara grinned. "Yeah, you shouldn't. Her speech to _me_ about sneaking out in the middle of the night and sleeping on a roof was bad enough. Her speech to _you_ is going to be _so_ much worse!"

Jack shook his head and quickly hopped off the roof and landed on the grass below with a roll. When he rose, a shaken Sara greeted him. "Are you _crazy_?!" She cried. He just smirked. "Possibly."

"What were you _thinking_?" Jack winced at Patrice's shrill voice. Her face was red and her fists were clenched tight.

"Do you realize what could have happened?" She cried. Jack sighed. "Patrice, it was _fine_! A night walk never hurt anybody! At least, not around _here_! This town has a crime rate of an average of less then one crime every three years!"

Patrice crossed her arms across her chest. "I don't care! What if you or her got lost from each other? She'd be wandering for hours!" Jack shook his head. "There is a clear path back to the crossroads, and from there it's easy to find my farm… Just turn left!"

The older lady narrowed her eyes. "What if… what if…"

"If somebody saw her?" Jack finished for her. Patrice's eyes widened, but then narrowed further.

"What did you mean by _that_?!" She roared. Jack immediately regretted his words. But it was too late. They had been said and he wasn't about to back down.

"Do you think we're stupid?" He started. "Your overprotection. Your unfailing caution. It doesn't protect her! It only gives us more leverage to show her the truth!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" She retorted. Jack only smirked. "It's no use, Patrice. You can't hide it anymore. Everyday, she's closer and closer to seeing the truth. Soon, she _will_ know who she is and once that happens…"

He trailed off and walked out of his bedroom before she could reply.

Sara was awaiting him in the living room. "How'd it go?" She asked softly. Jack merely moaned and sat down on the couch, his head in his hands.

She sat next to him. "That bad, huh?" Jack didn't reply for a few minutes. When he did, he said. "I gotta take a walk. I… I'm sorry about this."

He rose to his feet and left the house, ignoring Sara's cry of, "You're sorry for _what_?"

Patrice moaned quietly and sat down on Jack's bed. "Everything is falling apart. He's right. I can't keep this up much longer… And if we must spend two weeks in this place with… him, she'll find out for sure!" She held her head in her hands.

"How could I… how could I keep her from finding out?" Patrice asked no one. No answer came to her mind and a determined look washed across her features.

"If I can't keep her from finding out about who she is, then I will be the one to tell her!" She said with a steely voice. "At least, this way, she'll still have _some_ trust in me."

She sat on the bed a little while longer, pondering what she was going to say. If she had been paying more attention, she may have noticed that the bedroom door was slightly ajar…

After a few minutes, Patrice rose from her bed. "I have to tell her _now_." She walked over to the door and was struck with terror when she saw that it was never closed after Jack had left the room.

She walked out of the room and called Sara's name. There was no answer. There was nobody in the house but her…

"Hey, Jack!" Jack heard as he walked up the familiar path that led up the mountain. He froze. He didn't really want to talk to her now.

Erica walked up the path behind Jack until she reached where he now stood. "What are you doing?" She asked.

Jack looked at her. "I'm taking a walk. Clearing my mind." He said coolly, hoping she would get the hint.

"Mind if I walk with you?" Erica obviously didn't.

Jack sighed, deciding against being rude. "If you want to…" Erica was slightly taken back by his tone, but she ignored it and they began walking together up the mountain.

They walked in silence passing the hot springs and the church, until they reached the peak.

Erica sat down on the rock and stared out at the forest that was at the base of the mountain. "It's so beautiful…"

Jack looked down near the base and saw a very distant shack sitting in the middle of nowhere.

_When Cliff was kidnapped, he was taken there…_ He thought to himself.

"Jack?" His thoughts were interrupted by a glare from Erica. "Did you even hear me?" She asked, her glare growing. Jack just smiled sheepishly.

Erica sighed. "I told you to sit down!" Jack hesitated and then sat down, making sure to keep at least a foot of distance between him and Erica.

She ignored it however and slid closer to him until they were far closer then Jack wanted.

"Jack?" She said quietly. Jack peered at her through the corner of his eye. She was slowly inching closer.

"Yeah?" He finally replied, refusing to look her in the eye. She sighed lightly, but he didn't hear it.

"I… I wanted to talk to you about… Kar—err… Sara." Erica finally said. Now Jack looked at her and nearly jumped back at how close she was. "What is it?" He finally replied.

"How do you know that she's really Karen?" Jack stiffened, he had saw that coming.

"There have been a lot of things supporting it." She opened her mouth to reply, but Jack raised his hand to stop her. "It will all be out in the open soon. By the time they are ready to leave, she _will_ know. That a vow that I have no plan to break."

Patrice left the house in a huff. "This can't be happening!" She muttered as she walked toward the exit of the farm. "I've worked too hard! I've pulled too many strings! Cashed in too many favors!"

She reached the crossroads and figured out that she probably _should_ have taken that offer that Jack made to give them a tour! She had no idea where they could be!

She made a quick decision to stay away from the town at that moment and turned left.

Patrice quickly walked down the road, keeping an eye out for either Sara or anybody who might recognize her. _Like… sister._ She added in her mind.

Upon reaching the end of the path, she was greeted with the sight of another farm.

Patrice growled softly at her mistake but that's when she heard the familiar sound of water crashing up onto a sandy beach and she looked to her left.

There was yet another path that led to a short staircase. At the end of that staircase was obviously the beach.

She decided to check there also, mainly because Sara always liked the beach. She saw no reason for it to be any different here!

So, she quickly walked onto the beach and what she saw shocked her. A single boat, a single _ferry_, sat waiting at the dock…

Jack and Erica talked to each other for a long while, getting to know each other more. It was something that Jack had been afraid to do ever since he had heard of her feeling toward him.

Now… now Jack was still very worried about giving off the wrong idea, but it wasn't as bad as before. And after talking to her, he couldn't help but to admit that she was very beautiful.

She had a personality that would make even the coldest man melt in her arms. Erica knew it too. And now, after being able to talk to him, she knew that she was closer to her goal. She could see it in his eyes. He didn't really have feelings for her yet, but a major hurdle had been jumped.

Pastor Brown wasn't happy. Nope, not happy at all. He grumbled quietly as his still all too fresh wound pressed up against his pant leg and stars flashed before his eyes as pain shot through his nerves. He had gotten the wound sewn up by the nearby doctor and had gotten some pain-killing drink from the Potion Shop, but it really didn't help much.

"Oh, my queen… Why did you have to take your anger out on me?" He wondered aloud as he climbed up Moon Mountain. "Why not just attack one of the traitors? Or better yet, that farmer? I've done nothing but follow you…"

Brown winced once more as he climbed the last hill and began walking on the wooden bridge. But he gritted his teeth and walked on, determined to do what he had set out to do. After all, once he finished this job, he was sure that he'd get a bonus from the Goddess! At _least_ a healing, but if she was _really_ pleased with him… He chuckled at the memory of when he had poisoned that old man's drink. Yes, she was very pleased that day.

Finally, he reached his destination. The Christian church that had tormented him for so long. He frowned in disgust at the building. "Such an ugly place. You'd figure that if their God was so great, they'd at least give Him a worthy temple!"

He decided to shrug off that feeling and walked into the church. In a matter of hours, the Wednesday night service would begin and Brown knew he must hurry.

He quickly walked into the back room where Pastor Carter currently lived and smiled when he saw that the fellow minister was nowhere to be found. He knew, however, that Carter never strayed to far from his beloved church. The threat of overzealous Goddess followers was always imminent and he needed to be there in case they ever tried to do something again as they had in the past.

He spied a mug of steaming liquid sitting on a table and he smiled. Upon further inspection, he found that it was a still very hot cup of coffee. That told him that Carter was probably still in the church, probably just in a different area. He decided that it would be best to step up his performance and get out of the building as fast as possible.

Quickly, he pulled out a small glass bottle that contained a clear and tasteless liquid and he poured it into the coffee.

Suddenly there was a flush originating from the nearby bathroom and Pastor Carter stepped out. But before he could do so, Brown was already out the door and walking briskly back down the mountain…

"I'm sorry." Jack blinked at Erica's words. They had come out from virtually nowhere and he was very confused by them. "Sorry about what?"

She looked at him and sighed. Silently, she rehearsed the speech she had prepared for this moment.

"For everything. For all those times I got angry at you for still hanging onto your love for Karen. At the time, it seemed so stupid, but now…" She paused as tears began coming to her eyes and she looked towards the ground.

"No, no, no… Don't feel sorry." Jack put a finger beneath her chin and lifted her face to level with his own. "I understood then and I understand now. To you, Karen seemed more like a myth than anything else, but to me… she was my life. My love. It was so hard to go on. The fact that her body was never found was the only thing that kept me going… well, that and God, of course!

"But _I'm_ sorry. I was blinded by my sorrows. Whether I was right in them or not, I completely ignored you." Jack said softly. Erica could hardly hold back her smile. She had predicted _exactly_ what Jack would do. Now, if everything went as planned, she'd be married to him in a month!

"I'm sorry that I never gave you light of day. I'm sorry that ignored someone that was right in front of me… someone I see now that is a very awesome person and someone I would _gladly_ call my friend.

"And I'm also sorry… about the fact that I never took a chance with you. I was always so scared, but I had forgotten one very important thing. That thing being the fact that Karen would have _killed_ me if she found out I was moping around my farm for three years, never even dating again.

"I was wrong in shrugging you off like I did. And I'm sorry I never gave you a chance… and I'm also sorry that I may never _have_ the chance to give you a chance."

Erica froze. _No_, she said in her mind. _No! Now's the part where you ask me out on a date or something!_

Jack continued. "With Sara here, and my hopes set on helping her remember, soon Karen will be back and we'll continue where we left off most likely. I… I still love her and if I have a chance of getting her back, I _have_ to take it."

Erica couldn't speak. Her plan, one she had worked so hard in setting up and plotting what she would do had just been driven into the ground. Her chances were ruined.

Jack sighed at her silence; he could see in her eyes that he had hurt her. He was about to speak again, but he was interrupted by his wristwatch going off, telling him that it was nearing the time for him to church.

He sighed once more and rose to his feet. "Listen, I… I have to go. I'm sorry about all of this." He turned and began walking away. Behind him he heard Erica rise to her feet and the sound of running footsteps.

"Jack!" She cried and he stopped, turning around to face her. When Erica reached him, she didn't stop. Instead she jumped into his arms and kissed him passionately.

At first, Jack's natural instincts told him to give into the kiss and maybe even take it farther. That's when one name hit him. _Karen._ He immediately pulled away and pushed Erica back as well.

"What are you—" A rustling in a bush behind him silenced him. He knew it was probably just a raccoon or something, but knowing his luck, it was something _far_ worse.

_FLASH!_ Jack and a pink-haired girl were kneeling, facing each other, on the cold brick of the main street of Flowerbud. Sara watched in horror as the girl leaned forward and kissed Jack. Pain shot through her heart and immediately tears stung her eyes. "No." She softly whispered.

At that moment, Jack pulled away and looked at the girl in bewilderment and possibly even betrayal. Sara didn't see that though. No, all she saw was the fact that Jack _kissed _her!

The girl got up and left before Jack finally stood. He turned around and his eyes found Sara's. A look of horror found its way onto his features and he opened his mouth to speak.

Sara didn't give him the chance. Instead, she whipped around and began running away, tears flowing down her cheeks.

_FLASH!_ Sara couldn't think straight. _What did I just see?!_ She wondered to herself. _One thing's for sure… I know how she feels!_

When Sara had saw Jack and Erica kiss, she felt something in her heart. A feeling of recognition. That's what had set off the vision, but she also felt something else. Hurt. She was hurting terribly and she didn't know why. All she knew is that seeing the two kissing ignited something inside of her.

Jack turned around and he caught the sight of a shoe sticking from underneath the bush. He paled and then he began shaking. _This can't be…_

"Sara?" He called quietly, desperately praying that it wasn't her, but someone else.

No such luck. Sara rose slowly from the bush, a look of pain and anger on her features. "Jack." She spat.

The young farmer moved towards her, but in that moment, she tore back down the mountain path.

"Why is it that I always get stuck in these messes?" Jack wonder aloud before running after Sara, leaving a dismayed Erica behind.

Sara ran down the mountain as fast as her legs would take her. Tears were already beginning to build up at her eyes and her eyesight was being hindered by it. Once again, she couldn't believe how familiar all of this felt.

_FLASH! _She was running through Green Ranch. She tried to run down the path that led to the beach, but she didn't see the rock in front of her and she ended up tripped and falling flat on her face.

_FLASH!_ Sara, confused by the vision, made the very same mistake and her foot hit a single rock, sending her sprawling onto the dirt path.

She got back on her feet and was off again before Jack, who was maybe twenty feet behind her, could catch up.

She finally reached the bottom of the mountain and she quickly left the meadow in search of a place Jack wouldn't be able to find her.

Gotz and Sasha walked down the slight incline that led out of the vineyard and into the five-way intersection. They turned towards the mountain, only to see a blur of _somebody_ running towards them. Whoever it was brushed roughly by Sasha and ran into the village.

"Well, _he's_ rude!" Gotz proclaimed loudly. Sasha didn't speak for a long time. Instead, she paled very much so and she began shivering. "Sasha?" Her husband asked worriedly.

Sasha looked at him, her eyes wide. "It was…" she began. "a she…"

Before she could continue any further, Jack ran roughly into Gotz, falling backwards in surprise. Gotz hardly moved.

Jack quickly rose to his feet and quickly apologized. Gotz just grinned. "No harm done! At least, not to _me_!" He roared with laughter and Jack couldn't help to chuckle a bit with him.

Soon, however, he got a look of seriousness on his face. "Did you see a girl run by here? She um… well… she's about my age, a little bit shorter and—"

"She looks exactly like Karen?" Sasha finished, color returning back to her face. Jack froze, not sure how to reply to that. Finally he just said a quick, "Yeah."

Sasha sighed in relief, glad that she wasn't seeing things. "She just ran into the village. If you don't mind my asking, why are you chasing her?"

Jack smiled slightly and said, "Why do I _always_ chase girls? I screwed up!" He ran past the couple before they could reply and hinder his search any longer.

Gotz laughed loudly. "He sure is in a hurry!" He looked at Sasha. "So what was this about a Karen-look-alike?"

Sara paused only momentarily when she entered the town. "Where can I go…?" She wondered out loud. Her question was answered when her eyes locked on a building that looked very familiar.

It was all white and had a short steeple shooting up from the top. It had a small porch in front of it and a front door that was wide open. She quickly ran inside.

Once she got inside the building, she noticed that it looked quite a bit like the church from her dream! There were differences here and there, but there was no doubt in Sara's mind that this _was_ that church!

She walked along the aisle, taking in her surroundings. Then her eyes saw the statue near the front of the church. It was a simple statue. One of a woman with a flowing dress. It was the statue of the Goddess.

_FLASH!_ A little girl sat with her grandmother while Pastor Brown droned on and on about how wonderful the Goddess was.

_FLASH!_ The girl was a little bit older now and mature enough to understand what the pastor spoke about. She listened intently. "Beware of the false prophets!" He said. "They will come to you and tell you lies! They'll tell you that the Goddess is a fake! Do not listen to them!"

_FLASH!_ The girl was now in her teens. She stood up, off of the pew, and walked to the front where Pastor Brown anointed her with a special type of oil. "Do not ever forget." He whispered in her ear. "Don't forget who you are. Don't forget who made you…"

_FLASH!_ Jack and her sat in the pew, talking softly. "It's the statue of the goddess." She said quietly. Jack jumped up and then looked at her, a strong emotion in his eyes… The emotion was fear!

When Jack calmed down, Sara continued. "My family used to come here… Every Sunday we'd be here. We were highly respected in the village at that time. That is, before my Grandmother died. I guess… she was the one that made us go all along. When she left us… we just stopped. We stopped just like the vineyard stopped giving good wine."

_FLASH!_ Sara stumbled back from the visions. "What's going—" She paused as more visions flashed before her eyes. Finally, she just fell to her knees, moaning softly as more and more events flashed by her. Finally, she blacked out altogether and fell to the floor in a heap.

Pastor Carter of Flowerbud Christian Church didn't feel well. No, that's an understatement. He felt utterly _terrible_. He felt like there was something in his stomach that was slowly eating away at him from inside out!

He doubled over and once again threw up whatever was left in his body into the toilet. After that, he nearly blacked out, but he was able to handle it.

Outside the door to his bathroom, he heard the murmuring of his congregation and steeled himself.

"Just going to tell them all to go home tonight… I can't do this tonight… Maybe I'll set up another church service tomorrow…" He said to himself.

Quickly, he looked in the mirror and sighed. He was a mess. His skin was extremely hot to touch and there were dark bags under his eyes. His skin had a greenish tint to it and his hair was in every direction but the direction it was _supposed_ to be in!

He quickly splashed water on his face and wiped off any excess… _stuff_ off of his mouth. After that, he drank some water from the nearby water fountain and tried to wash the terrible taste out of his mouth. He didn't have much luck at that but at least his throat didn't burn as much.

He stepped out of the bathroom and stepped up on the platform to face the congregation, all of which looked quite surprised to see him looking so terrible.

"Um…" He started hoarsely. He cleared his throat and tried again. "I'm terribly sorry about all of this…" He forced himself to resist the urge to throw up. "But I seem to have contracted a virus of some sort. I don't think I'll be able to preach tonight…" His head began to get woozy and the pains in his stomach got worse.

"I'll try to… set up another service… soon and I'll tell you all… when…" He placed a hand on his head and stumbled back, inciting many of the congregation to start murmuring and a few to stand and run to help him.

"When… when I'm well enough to preach…" He began walking back towards his room, but suddenly he collapsed, causing nearly the entire congregation to stand in worry.

Cliff reached the fallen pastor first. He knelt down and tried to help the pastor up. That's when he felt his skin. It was already cold to the touch and he noticed that all color was beginning to drain away from Carter's features.

In fear, he felt for the man's pulse and was terrified to find that Pastor Carter had _none_.

"Help! Somebody! CPR! Somebody who knows CPR, get _over_ here!" He cried…

Sara jolted awake and looked around at her surroundings. She was laying in a bed. One she recognized as Jack's.

"Hello?" She called. At first, she got no reply, but then a shuffling sound was heard in the kitchen and Patrice came out, carrying a cup of hot chicken soup.

"Sara! Are you feeling all right?" She asked worriedly as she sat by Sara's feet.

Sara groaned slightly and her eyes widened, remembering what had just happened to her. She looked at Patrice with a short look of contempt but then her eyes softened.

"Yes… I'm doing fine…" Patrice couldn't help but to noticed that Sara's tone sounded almost false. As if she was lying or if she was restraining some kind of strong emotion.

She looked at her niece with worry but then shrugged it off as a side effect of her fainting spell.

"Listen, Sara, once you are well enough, I want you to start packing up your things. We're leaving the island tomorrow." Sara looked at her aunt in bewilderment. "What? But the ferry doesn't come until…"

"Jack lied to us. The ferry came yesterday. He would have gotten away with it too, but the ferryman had forgotten to pick something up for his wife and he had to come back." Patrice said, anger in her voice.

Sara's eyes widened and she had to stop herself from smirking. _Jack, that's not like you…_

Suddenly, the sound of the front door opening was heard and Sara immediately rose from her bed, ignoring Patrice's comments about her needing her rest.

Instead, she walked right out of his room and walked right up to Jack, who had just got in. He had a look of sorrow in his eyes but at the same time, there was a look of relief on his features.

The relief lasted only a short while though. "You _lied_ to us!" Sara cried angrily. Before Jack could speak, she drove her fist into his jaw, ignoring the pain in her knuckles.

Jack stumbled back, out of the house, down his steps, and into the wet grass, disorientated by the hit. Before he could say anything though, his front door slammed loudly and the image of Sara left him…


	7. Maybe Not Always

**Chapter 6: Maybe Not Always**

It was a beautiful day. The sun shone brightly and the ocean waves rolled in and out, over and over, never stopping. Seagulls flew overhead, squawking loudly.

Jack silently cursed the beautiful day. _It's not fitting_. He thought to himself quietly. _First, Sara's leaving and then I have Pastor Carter's funeral to attend to!_

Ann and Sara embraced. Each of them had grown closer over the few days Sara had been with them, yet Jack couldn't help but to see that the embrace seemed to imply more. They had grown closer, yes, but not _that_ close! But there they were, embracing like they were best friends!

He shrugged it off and sighed sadly. He noticed that Sara was making her way over to him.

Sara bit her lip nervously. How was she going to do this without telling him the truth? Her thoughts were cut off when Jack spoke. "Sara… please don't do this…" She looked up at Jack in bewilderment. "Jack! What do you—"

"I have _proof_ that you're Karen!" Jack blurted out. Sara groaned loudly. "Jack! Give it up! It's _over_! Karen's gone!" She exploded, making Jack wince.

She sighed. "Jack… I'm sorry, but…"

"Karen's mother has a sister." Jack cut her off again. "Her sister's name is _Patrice_! She's your aunt's age and looks _exactly_ like her!" Sara tried to reply but Jack refused to let her.

"Don't you see? It all points to you being Karen! Have you forgotten that dream? How could you have _Karen's_ memory if you aren't _Karen_?" Sara stiffened.

"Jack, I…" She tried to so hard to keep the tears from coming. "Sara?" Jack said quietly, seeing her pained expression.

Sara looked up into Jack's eyes, tears just beginning to run down her cheeks. "I'm sorry." She said in a whisper. "I'm so sorry… maybe… maybe you'll find what you're looking for in Erica."

Jack was about to reply, but Patrice's shrill voice pierced the air. "_Sara_! It's time to go!"

He sighed heavily and decided to give it one last try. "Sara… No, _Karen_. Please, don't leave. If you'd just stay a while longer, I'm sure I can help you with your memories!"

Sara sighed and shook her head. "It's too late, Jack. It's just too late." With that, she turned around and began walking to the ferry.

_No_. Jack said to himself. _I won't let her go!_ "Sara!" He ran forward when she stopped and turned to face him. He opened his mouth to speak, but he found that he didn't know what to say.

Sara looked indecisive for a moment, but then she leaned forward a kissed Jack softly on his lips, much to his surprise. When she pulled away, she said softly, "I'll never for get you, Jack Williams. That's a promise."

After that, she quickly ran onto the ferry while Jack was still in shock because of the kiss.

Tears ran down Sara's face and the first sob racked her body. _Am I doing the right thing?_ She wondered. Patrice put an arm around her. "It'll be all right. _He'll_ be all right."

Sara looked at her aunt scornfully but then looked back at the beach where Jack stood, watching the ferry leave in silence.

Then he ran forward and began wading the water. Sara froze, afraid that he was going to swim after them, but he stopped a few feet in. Then he cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "I'll always love you!" He paused and said much more quietly, "Karen…"

Sara couldn't take it any more. She couldn't do this to him. She couldn't do this to _herself_! She unconsciously stepped closer to the rail…

Patrice would never forget Sara's next words. They would stay with her until the day she died. They pierced her very soul and caused her to tremble. They were the words that destroyed _everything_ she had ever worked for.

She watched as Sara stepped up to the rail, cupped her hands, and screamed back, "_Jaaaaaack! I remember!_"

Sara watched as Jack turned and began walking out of the beach. "He didn't hear me… He didn't hear me!" She cried.

She looked at the churning waters of the ocean and sighed heavily. "Here goes…"

Tears ran down Jack's face as he stood in the churning waters of the ocean. Pain racked his heart and fought the loud sobs that were threatening to burst from his mouth.

He watched as the ferry drove farther and farther out to sea. "Good-bye… Karen." He said softly.

He thought he heard something. It sounded like Sara yelled something at him, but he couldn't quite make it out.

Finally, he sighed and decided that it was a figment of his imagination. _Just like my hopes of ever being reunited with Karen again_…

The first sob escaped his mouth and he decided to head home.

The journey back to his house was long and excruciating. And he knew it wasn't over yet either. Later that day, he would have to attend the funeral of his close friend, John Carter. _Why is this happening to me? God, why are you letting this happen?_ He received no answer and he'd sighed heavily. "Maybe I was right before…" He shook off those thoughts, knowing that he was wrong in thinking that.

He reached his house and not even bothering to check over his farm, walked into his house, closing the door behind him, and plopped down on his bed, face down. He let the sobs free and his entire bed shook, as did his body.

This went on for a few minutes until, finally, he no longer had any tears to shed. Finally, he was just lying on his back, looking up at the ceiling while remembering all the good times he had with her. The first time they met. When Karen had sprained her ankle and then when Gotz had abused her. He remembered the time when he had went over to Ann's house and Karen had taught him how to dance. He remembered their first kiss on the beach. He even remembered the night they spent together, although he didn't really know if that could be counted as a _good_ memory.

Then his mind drifted to the more painful parts. The harsh words she had said to him. The time she saw him and Popuri kiss. When she found out about Jack being a Christian. The day she left. The day Jack read the newspaper and found out that the ferry had gone down. The time she saw Erica kiss him.

He froze. "That was Sara, not Karen… Then again, there's no difference…"

He heard somebody knock at his front door. He didn't answer at first, but the knocking continued. "Go away!" He yelled harshly, ignoring the pang of guilt that came along with it.

The knocking still went on. "I said _go away_!" The knocking stopped and he sighed happily. Then he heard his front door open. _I forgot to lock the door…_ He noted in his mind.

Then a knock was heard at his bedroom door. "Get out! I don't want to talk to you, Cliff or Ann or whoever you are!"

The door opened slowly and a voice pierced the air. "Oh, I think you want to talk to me, Jack."

Jack stopped breathing. He could have sworn that his very heart stopped as well.

He immediately sat up in bed and stared at the figure that had just entered his room.

She was dripping with water; her hair was stuck to her face. Her makeup was running and she was only wearing one shoe. But regardless of all that, Jack couldn't help but to think of how beautiful she was.

"S-Sara?" He asked tentatively, as if he was afraid she'd disappear. She smirked, "The name's not Sara, buddy. It's Karen."

Jack jumped out of his bed and ran to her, embracing her tightly. Forgotten tears sprang to his eyes again.

Meanwhile, Karen was already crying heavily while she buried her face into Jack's shoulder. "Oh, Jack. I'm so sorry!" She sobbed. If Jack heard her, he didn't reply. Instead, he released her so he could stare into her eyes… Eyes that now held recognition and love.

"Karen? Are you really back?" He asked. "I mean, you aren't just pretending to be Kar—"

"Of _course_ I'm back! I've known since last night!" Karen cried with a smile on her face. Jack lost his breath. "Last night? But how? When?"

Karen shook her head. "When I ran away from you. It started then. I started seeing old memories and as I ran they became more and more numerous. Finally, I hid myself in the church and that's when it all hit me. It took me a little while to piece it all together again, but I remembered fully sometime last night."

"Then why didn't you say anything?" Jack asked, a slight look of betrayal on his face. Karen sighed. "I was scared! Last time I saw you, I had been hurt really badly! I… I didn't want to be hurt again! I didn't know if I could handle it again…"

"Then why'd you come back?" Karen smiled. "I saw you. You were just watching us as we left and I realized how selfish I was being. I realized that not only was I hurting my_self_ by leaving, but I was hurting the man I love…"

Jack blushed deeply and failed to come up with a reply. Karen took that as a good sign and embraced him again, this time kissing him as well.

She pulled away for just a moment. "I realized that it wasn't worth leaving…" She whispered before kissing Jack again.

"Just wait until you see the new parts." Jack said excitedly. "We have a whole _bunch_ of new additions. For example, now we have a hospital! We have an apartment building and a whole bunch of new houses! There's a furniture store now. Um…"

"Jack." Karen stated. "You're boring me! I don't _care_ about the town! Tell me what you've been doing for the past three years! Tell me how the others have been doing!" Jack grinned and opened his mouth to speak, but his watch alarm went off, stopping him.

"Oh no…" He said quietly, his smile melting away. Karen looked at him confused. "What is it?" Jack looked up at her. "It John's… err… Pastor Carter's funeral."

"Pastor Carter? Who's he?" Jack smiled. "He's the pastor of the Flowerbud Christian Church… No, he _was_ the pastor. He died yesterday. Around the time of our little adventure. He was… a great friend."

"Was he old?" Karen asked, intrigued why this man would die like that. "No." Jack answered. "He wasn't much older than you or me. We, uh… we don't know why he died, but we… we think it was murder."

Karen's eyes widened. "Murder! Why do you think that? And who would do such a thing?" Jack looked at her, a pained look on his face. "Pastor Brown. Steven Brown."

Karen didn't speak for a long time. A familiar look of betrayal was etched on her face. Finally, she spoke softly. "I _know_ Pastor Brown. He would _never_ do something like that."

Jack sighed softly. "We'll discuss this later. We have a funeral to get to." Karen looked at him in bewilderment. "_We_? I don't even know the man!" Jack shook his head. "No way, you're coming with me! We need all the joy we can get after this and _you_ are going to help bring it!" Karen smirked and nodded slowly, deciding against fighting him on the matter.

Jack and Karen walked through the town, hand in hand. Everybody was already at the square, where the funeral would be held. Meanwhile, Jack told Karen what he had been doing for the last few years.

"Jack, you should have moved on! You got lucky this time and I managed to live, but there was every chance that I _wouldn't_ live!" Karen said, a tinge of anger evident in her voice.

Jack smiled at her. "You're not very easy to forget, Karen. And plus, who would I go out with?"

"What about that Erica girl?" Jack winced, he had forgotten all about her. "Well…"

"Jack! I heard you two talking. You said that you regretted not ever getting to know her and—"

"And that it was too late as well." Jack finished, a grave look on his face. Karen looked at him and smiled softly. "Yeah… you did…" She fell silent for a few minutes.

Finally, she spoke again. "Jack. I want to say something." Jack looked at her, prompting her to continue. She took a deep breath and gathered up the courage needed. "I…I'm sorry. When I left… I was thinking only about myself and what I wanted, and I didn't even bother to think about how much my leaving would hurt you and the others."

Jack grinned. "Don't worry about it anymore. Just seeing you now… it made the wait worth it." Karen blushed deeply. "Um… well…" She couldn't find the words to say and Jack just chuckled. Then he fell serious again and said, "We're here."

Jack walked up the stairs to the Square, but Karen stopped. "I… I don't know if I can… It's…" She said softly. Jack gave her an encouraging look. "Karen, you have to face them sometime. Either now or later. I'd much rather now though!"

Karen squared her shoulders and her eyes hardened. "Okay… Now it is then. Just… you won't leave me, will you?" Jack grinned. "Naw, I don't trust you enough to leave you alone!" Karen smiled slightly and nodded.

They walked into the square and found that the funeral was already underway. It was being held in the center of the large square and there was a crowd in front of a raised platform. It reminded Jack of his grandfather's funeral.

Jack began walking towards the crowd but Karen stopped him. "Jack… I don't want to go all the way up there! Not now. Can't we just hang back here?"

The young farmer looked at her and sighed. "Just a bit closer, we can hardly hear Cliff from here."

"Cliff?"

"Yeah, Cliff's the one delivering the eulogy. It's his job as assistant pastor to Carter, so…" Jack stated as if it was common knowledge. Karen was speechless. "A lot has changed since I left, huh?" Jack smiled but didn't answer.

"Jonathan Carter was only with us a short time. He only came to Flowerbud recently, but in that short time, he touched each and every one of our lives in a special way." Cliff started, his voice carrying over the crowd.

Murmurs of agreement rose to his ears and a small smile appeared on his face.

"He was a strong man of faith and I have absolutely no doubt where he is now. He's in Heaven, rejoicing at God's side.

"He was also a great friend. One of the very best. He was always willing to lend an ear. No matter what it was, he could be entrusted with any secret or burden and we could be assured that it would go no farther than him.

"He was never pushy. He was never mean. You can't come much closer to being like Jesus than he was.

"He will be missed greatly, yet I'm comforted to know that this isn't the last time I'll see him. I know that when we reach Heaven, he will be standing at the gates, greeting each and every one of us.

"So, John, if you can hear me up in Heaven, know this: I'll see you soon… I'll see you soon." Cliff closed his eyes and fought the tears that were threatening to pour down his cheeks.

He sighed heavily and was silent for a few moments, letting his words settle on the hearts of the crowd. Finally, he said, "Now, Gotz Roberts would like to share something."

Karen's eyes widened. "Did he just say… Gotz?" Jack looked at her. "Yeah, your dad. Didn't I tell you—" He was cut off as Gotz's strong voice boomed from the speakers.

Gotz looked at the crowd and smiled widely. "Well, you heard the man! Why feel so sad! We'll be seeing him again soon!" Light applause followed those words.

"But anyway, that's not what I'm up here to say." The crowd grew silent as Gotz began.

"When John arrived at Flowerbud a few months ago, I thought nothing of him. In fact, my exact words were, 'Just another Christian wacko'. I was wrong.

"John was the model Christian. He lived his life as well as he could, following Christ as closely as possible… even unto death. His words, they held such a power, a convicting power, that they were able to change even the most harden-hearted of us all… Me.

"I'll never forget that fateful day when John came to my house. It wasn't anything special; he was just out meeting the townsfolk and inviting them to church.

"I was the worst or the worst. The biggest alcoholic. The bully of the town. I looked out for me and me only. And he knew it! He may have been new to the town, but he had already heard plenty about me… Like how at times when I got drunk enough, I'd do such stupid things like get into bar fights or like… like when I beat my daughter."

His voice cracked at Karen's mention and it tore Karen's heart to pieces. This wasn't her father. This obviously wasn't the man she had grown up to hate. And no matter how much she wanted to or how hard she tried, the bitterness she had once felt was slowly melting away, a little bit more with each emotion filled word.

"Yet, he decided to do something that few people succeeded in. He wanted to become my friend and in the end, give me the best friend I could ever ask for.

"At first, I mocked him. I refused to listen. I threw his moves to friendship back into his face. But he didn't quit… No, he was no quitter. He kept it up, and soon I was wearing down. My mocking times lessened and lessened until I stopped with the mockery all together.

"Throughout my entire life, I've built walls around myself. I built walls so high that they seemed infinite to some. But he didn't see an endless wall. He saw loose bricks. And one by one, he took a brick away and threw it to God knows where.

"The wall diminished. Until soon I was left with nothing. The wall was gone, as if it was never there. My heart, my most guarded place was bare, open to listen.

"And listen I did. I listened as he told me about Christ. I listened as he told me about how Jesus came to earth, throwing away His majesty and kingship, to die for _me_.

"And I believed. I still do until this day. And for that, I thank him and I thank God. Without them, I wouldn't be here. So… thank you, John. I'll see you soon as well."

Gotz stepped down from the platform slowly. By now tears were beginning to run down his rough cheeks and he couldn't help but to smile at how much he had changed in the last few months.

Before he reached the last few steps, he looked out among the crowd and was surprised not to see Jack anywhere. He looked a bit farther, and saw two figures loitering around near the edge of the square. He recognized one as Jack, the other, a young woman, looked strangely familiar yet he couldn't place her.

Deciding to find out why Jack, one of John's best friends, was hanging so far back, he began pushing through the crowds, quickly wiping away tears, and trekked across the square.

"Oh no, he's coming over here!" Karen cried. Jack looked where she was looking and grimaced. She was right; Gotz was walking towards the two at a quick pace.

He looked at Karen and smiled warmly. "Are you ready?" She looked at him wildly. "Ready? Do I _look_ ready?! I'm _not_ ready, especially after that speech! Jack, you have to hide me or something, I can't do this!"

Jack looked at her and he felt sympathy for her. He was about to help her when he realized something. It was too late. Gotz had already seen both of them and there was no way to hide her without raising some serious questions.

"It's too late." Karen froze. _No. It _can't_ be too late!_ She screamed at herself. But it was, she noted. Gotz was close enough now that she could see the very whites of his eyes. With fear she realized that he could see her just as well.

"Jack! What are you doing hanging out back here?" Gotz asked, a tint of worry in his gruff voice.

Jack was confused. Gotz acted like he hadn't even seen Karen! "Um… I'm just hanging out back here because, um… _she_ didn't know John and didn't feel comfortable going all the way up there." He said indicating a nervous Karen who stood a few feet away.

Gotz looked at her. "Do I know you?" Karen didn't reply, but her eyes grew cold.

Gotz frowned when she didn't reply. "I'm _sure_ I've seen you before!" This time Karen replied, her voice cold and dripping with contempt. "You know, it's just like you."

"Excuse me?" Gotz asked, not really sure who this familiar girl was or why she said what she said. Karen's eyes narrowed further and her voice was strained. "It's just like you… to forget your own daughter."


	8. Miracle

**Chapter 7: Miracle**

If the situation wasn't so serious, Jack would have slapped his forehead and let loose a loud groan of annoyance. Instead, he settled for the stare of disbelief that was written on his features.

However, his disbelief was nothing compared to Gotz's. No, Gotz looked ill. His skin was literally taken on a green tint to it and he looked ready to heave his lunch all over his once-thought dead daughter.

The most calm and collected person in this little group was Karen, but even _she_ had disbelief on her features. Mainly because she couldn't believe what she had just said!

"_It's just like you… to forget your own daughter."_ The words rang through Karen's head. The coldness and hatred evident in her voice was something she hadn't felt in years! It was something she had never wished to hear again.

Yet regardless of that, she said them without hindrance. And just like that, shattered any hope for a fixed relationship with her father.

For a few seconds, before her father had started coming toward them, she had thought about maybe trying to fix things between them. After all, that speech proved to her that he was no longer the drunkard she knew him as.

But when she realized that he didn't recognize her, something inside of her snapped. Anger and frustrations long forgotten surfaced and before she could even stop herself, she exploded like a bomb.

And from what she could see, Gotz felt the 'bomb' far more than she would have expected.

Karen's father _never_ cried. In her entire lifetime, Karen had not seen him cry. Not even when his own mother died, Gotz always remained tough. Yet, Karen wasn't seeing that anymore. Instead, she was watching as her father, whom she knew as one of the strongest yet stupidest men on earth, was breaking down.

Tears rolled down his face and although he was holding back that actual _crying_, she could see that he couldn't hold back the deluge for long.

Then the first choking sob came. That one sob shattered Karen. Absolutely broke her. Already, she felt tears stinging her own eyes, but she fought her hardest to hold them back.

_It's not possible_. Gotz said to himself. _It's just not! She's _dead_, Gotz! Long gone!_ Yet, there she was, his own daughter standing in front of him. Sure, she had changed a little bit. Her hair was died black and green, she had grown just a bit taller, her features had aged three years, and she had a thin scar on her forehead, but there was no doubting who she was.

He mentally kicked himself for not seeing it. He could easily see why she hated him; after all, it really _does_ take a bad father to forget his own daughter.

"K-Karen?" He said quietly, almost a whisper. Karen didn't reply, it seemed that she was having as much trouble controlling her emotions as he was. _Although, she's probably having trouble keeping herself from telling me how much she hates me…_ Gotz noted in his mind.

That's when reality set in. More than ever before. Karen had been dead to the world for three years and now, in a time when sadness was supposed to reign, she came back. She came back!

Gotz's tears flowed more freely now and the sobs began racking his body sporadically. _She's alive!_ The sadness etched on his features melted away as it was replaced with joy. Karen's words were momentarily forgotten as Gotz enveloped his daughter—his daughter!—in a hug. It was quite possibly the first hug he had given her in the last fifteen years.

Karen blinked in surprise when her father embraced her. _It's not possible._ She said in her mind. _My father doesn't do things like this!_ Her eyes locked onto Jack's eyes, which at the moment were twinkling with excitement.

She felt her father's tears splash on her shoulders and all of a sudden, she had trouble making out a single word. _This can't be… Please, oh God, don't let this be my father… I can't… I can't forgive him…_

Yet Karen knew it in her heart that she had already stepped onto the path of forgiveness. And she was afraid that there was no turning back.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't summon the bitterness that had directed her mouth seconds before. She tried to remember each and every time her father had insulted her or even the time when he beat her, yet each and every time, the images were replaced with her father as a broken man, weeping at the sight of her.

She felt the stinging tear flow down her own face and she cursed her own stupidity. _I shouldn't have come here… Of _course_ I'm not ready for this! I was ready to face down my old father, but I… I can't face down this one! I… can't…_

She couldn't insult this man. She couldn't hate him. She couldn't hold back the tears. However, one thing she _could_ hold back was the sobs… That's when a loud moan escaped from her mouth and then she sobbed loudly.

The tears and sobs flowed much more freely now. And during that time, the walls around Karen's heart began to crack and break. She knew that it was only a matter of time until the wall was gone all together.

"Oh, Karen… My daughter… I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry…" She heard her father utter in between sobs. That was the worst. Now her father wasn't only crying, he was apologizing. Yet another thing he _never_ did.

And it shattered Karen even further. Another loud wail escaped her mouth as more tears flooded her cheeks and clothes.

Jack watched the two, a grin plastered onto his face. "I can't believe this is actually happening…!" He exclaimed quietly.

"You can't believe _what's_ happening?" He jumped at the voice behind him. Spinning around, he saw that Erica had walked up to them.

She had not noticed whom Gotz was hugging yet though. She had only seen Gotz hugging _somebody_.

"Um…" said Jack. "Well… it's, uh…"

"Spit it out!"

Jack looked at her and smiled slightly. "If you say so… It's a family reunion… between Gotz and…"

"Karen." Jack looked back at the person who had spoken. It was Karen. She had finally broken free of her father's grip and now was standing beside Jack.

Erica jumped back in surprise. "But you're… I thought you were…"

"Gone?" Karen finished, an amused smile on her face. Erica slowly nodded, causing Karen's smile to widen.

"No. You see, ever since last night, I've remembered. Everything. Not a memory is lost. And this morning… well, I just couldn't leave. Not again." Jack gave Karen's hand a squeeze, not noticing the waver of jealousy that flashed across Erica's face.

Erica was silent. She resisted the urge to slap Karen right there and then. _You… you…_ She said silently. _You…_ "Erica? Are you all right?" Jack's voice snapped Erica away from her thoughts.

"Yeah… just a little bit surprised… I guess you were right all these years, Jack. I guess your holding onto her like that really _was_ for a reason…" she said barely above a whisper.

Jack let go of Karen's hand and walked over to her. He put a hand on her shoulder and caused her to look straight at him.

"You'll find someone soon, Erica. I promise. Anybody'd be lucky to have you." Jack said quietly, so that only she could hear. She didn't reply for a while, and when she did, Jack could scarcely understand her.

"But what if the one I want is… you?" Jack looked at her in sorrow and repeated, "You'll find someone."

Erica didn't answer and Jack let go of her shoulder. "I'm not the best, you know." He started. "You could do better."

Karen fought a scowl. She didn't like Erica. It was that simple. No, actually, it wasn't. In fact, Karen hated Erica's very guts! Everything about her grated on Karen's nerves just making her want to—

"Karen?" Jack's voice stopped her from finishing that thought. She looked at him quizzically.

"You sort of blanked out there. Anyway, Gotz and I are going up there for the viewing and to pay our last respects to Pastor Carter. Will you be okay staying here for a few minutes?"

Karen rolled her eyes in annoyance. "I'm a big girl, Jack. I survived three years without you; I can survive another few minutes." Jack grinned and walked towards the center of the square. Gotz looked at his daughter once more before following.

The line that went beside Carter's casket went by slowly and Cliff, who was at the back of the line, was fighting impatience. He knew he was being selfish by letting the wait bother him; after all, a person isn't to rush things like this, but still…

Popuri stood in front of him, dabbing at the tears that refused to stop flowing. Cliff put a comforting hand on her shoulder and said softly, "It's not 'good-bye'. It's a 'see you later'. We'll see him again."

Popuri didn't answer, but he could tell that she had relaxed a little bit. Smiling, he brought his hand back to his side and noted that the line had moved up a few spots.

A few people up, Cliff could see Jack and Gotz talking excitedly. _Strange… what could they be talking about that overshadows _this Sighing, he decided to ask them later. He had other things to worry about… like who was going to pastor the church and how he could prevent this from happening again.

The minutes passed and finally Cliff was at the casket. He looked down at Carter. _They did a good job… he doesn't even look dead…_ He thought sadly.

**_Pray._** Cliff stopped. He was sure he had just heard someone tell him to pray! **_Pray._** He looked around in confusion. "Excuse me?" He said softly, ignoring the people who stared at him in bewilderment.

**_Pray._** The voice was more urgent this time. It was at that moment that Cliff saw the person who spoke. He stood a head taller than anybody else in the square and he shone as bright as a star. He was clothed in a shining white robe that reached all the way down to his feet. Cliff recognized the man as Gabriel, the angel that had protected him against the Goddess years before.

Cliff noticed that no one else seemed to see Gabriel. **_Pray_**. Cliff once again heard the voice but noticed that Gabriel's mouth had not moved.

Cliff started to walk over to him, but the angel put a hand up to stop him. Then, he pointed at Carter's casket and once again told Cliff to pray.

Popuri felt it. It was the urgency for prayer; so strong now that it felt like someone's very life was on the line. She had just finished paying her last respects to Carter and was about to go over to Gray when she noticed that Cliff was staring out into the middle of the square.

"Cliff? What are you…" Cliff looked at her, his eyes wide. "Popuri… do you feel it?" She was about to ask him what he meant, but she realized what he was talking about.

"You mean the feeling of prayer?" Cliff nodded. Popuri sighed. "Yeah, I feel it. It's almost like…"

"Like someone's life depends on it." He finished. Popuri just nodded and Cliff looked back at Carter's casket. "I think someone's _does_."

Cliff looked down at Carter and tried to bite back the fear. _I can't do this… I just… I can't! God, what you're asking me to do…_

He felt a hand on his shoulder and noticed that Popuri was now standing behind him. Her hand was resting on his shoulder. "Go ahead." She whispered quietly.

He looked back at her, fear and uncertainty evident in his eyes. "I… I don't know if I can…" He looked into her eyes. Those eyes trusted him. Those eyes told him that she _knew_ he could do this. Those eyes told him all he needed to know.

He took a deep breath and turned back to the silent casket. The entire _square_ had quieted down by now. Many had left, although a few had stayed. Those that stayed mostly had their eyes on the young man who _still_ hadn't finished, this of course being Cliff.

"God…" He began. Fear once again antagonized him and he tried unsuccessfully to repress it. "God, help me… I can't… I can't do this." Hr felt Popuri's hand come into contact with his shoulder again and he knew that she was praying for him as well.

Finally, after another few moments of hesitation, Cliff let out a shaky breath and began his prayer.

"God, John… he's still so young. He shouldn't have to die this way. Please… raise him from the dead. Bring him back to the living."

_Nothing_. Cliff noted with dismay. _Not even a twitch!_ His eyes hardened. _Why, God?! You go through all that trouble, and what happens in the end, God?! _Nothing

Cliff felt empty. Just plain… empty. It wasn't a good feeling. Slowly a tear rolled down Cliff's face. "I'm sorry, John… I just… I couldn't do it…"

"Yes, you can." Popuri said from behind him. He whirled to face her. "Popuri! No, I _can't_! Didn't you see? I tried!"

"There's a wise proverb that I heard once. It's 'you either do or do not. There is no _try_.' You went into that prayer thinking that you'd _try_ to do it. You didn't go into it with _any_ faith whatsoever. You figured it was doomed from the beginning!" Popuri winked. "Now do it again. This time don't try; _do_."

Cliff didn't answer verbally. He didn't even answer in any way for a long time. He just stood there, processing everything he had just heard. _Do? Can I actually do it? I… I don't…_

"Cliff, why do you think God would put this on your heart if He didn't want you to do it? If he didn't know you _could_ do it?" Popuri said when she saw the inner battle he was fighting.

He looked up at her, his eyes shining with a newfound confidence. He mouthed 'thank you' to her and turned back to Carter's casket.

"Okay, John. I'm sorry about last time. I must have sounded so pitiful." He chuckled softly. "But I'm ready this time. I promise." Cliff wasn't so sure how ready he was though. He felt confidence but he still wasn't sure if this would work. He knew he had to do it though. He had come so far and he couldn't back down now.

He took a deep breath and forced himself to _believe_. "Okay, God. I can't do this, but you sure can! You've done this so many times before. _Countless_ times before! Do it again, God. Do it again…"

He closed his eyes tightly and gritted his teeth. After a few moments like that, he slowly opened his mouth and began speaking with a confidence he didn't know he had.

"In the Bible, Jesus said that we'd do _greater_ things than He had. He went around healing people and touching hearts. From time to time, He even raised people from the dead!

"God, what I'm asking isn't greater. It's equal. Piece of cake for you, huh? Please, God. He doesn't deserve this. Bring him _back_, God! Bring him back…" Cliff's voice began rising and he felt _something_ welling up inside of him. It started in the pit of his stomach and spread throughout his body. It was a strange warmth that gave him courage like never before. It was electric in the way it affected Cliff.

When the warmth found his lips, he said the next words with an extremely loud volume that caused every eye in the square look his way. "Jonathan Carter. _Get up!_ Your place is not among the dead! Not yet!"

Cliff didn't want to do what he did next, but he did it anyway. He reached into the casket and _grabbed_ Carter's hand. Immediately, he felt that warmth shoot from his body and into Carter's.

He kept his grip on Carter's hand for a while longer. At first, nothing happened but then Cliff was _sure_ he felt a single heartbeat through Carter's veins.

Then he noticed Carter's skin was slowly gaining natural color again. His previously cold skin was becoming warm and even downright _hot_ to the touch! Now Cliff could feel a steady pulse running through Carter's veins and his formerly serious and concentrated face melded into one of disbelief and joy.

He heard a sharp gasp be emitted from Carter's lips and he watched in amazement as the formerly lifeless chest began moving up and down in normal rhythm.

He felt Popuri's grip on his shoulder tighten to a painful point. Her knuckles were white and he could tell that she was holding her breath. He noted that he was holding his own.

A loud groan originating from the casket shook Cliff from those thoughts. "John!" Cliff exclaimed, unable to stop himself. By now, the square was in an uproar. People scrambled about, some racing towards Cliff and the casket and others racing out in blind terror.

And then… the next moment, Cliff would never forget. Everything went silent around him and he no longer had the ability to see anything but Carter's face.

He watched in silent amazement as Carter's eyes shot open and their eyes locked…


	9. Questions Without Answers

**Chapter 8: Questions Without Answers**

Cliff's voice caught in his throat and tears burned at his eyes, which were wide with… with… just about every emotion Cliff could bring to the surface at the moment.

His mind had practically shut down. It wasn't prepared for this. Never in a million years would he have ever _imagined_ that he'd see someone who was _dead_ come back to life again. He knew it happened, but he never thought that he'd see it, much less be the one used to make it happen.

His eyes simply locked on John Carter's eyes, which never left Cliff's. Then Carter slowly smiled. "I guess I have some more material for sermons now, huh?"

Cliff choked back a sob and tried to hug Carter, who was still laying flat in the basket. He didn't have much luck, so he decided to help the man up and embrace him after.

He did just that. And now, any people who didn't realize that Carter lived knew now. Including a certain black haired girl who had green bangs.

Karen's face went pale. It had reason to as well! After all, it's not every day that you see your own cousin raise someone from the dead!

Yet there Karen was, watching from a distance as her cousin Cliff helped an older man out of a _casket_.

_It's a trick! They must have set me up or something! Or… or… _Jack's wide eyes and his open mouth told her that was _not_ the case.

"Oh God…" Jack said softly. Gotz just nodded slowly in agreement. Karen paled as Cliff began leading the man, who was a little wobbly on his feet, over to them.

He was worried that some of the people would rush toward Cliff and Carter to do whatever is was they'd do, but most of them actually stayed back. He knew it wouldn't last though.

"John!" Jack suddenly yelled before running at the two and enveloping them both in a bear hug. "I can't believe you've alive!"

"Yes… praise God. Praise Him indeed." Carter said softly in reply. He watched as Gotz came over to them, a huge grin on his face.

"You just couldn't stay dead, could you?" He said heartily, already over the initial surprise. "And you're not the only one either! John Carter, meet Karen Roberts, my daughter!"

Cliff stumbled and ended up letting go of Carter. He had Jack to help him anyway. But even if he didn't, it wouldn't have made a difference to Cliff. His eyes were on Sara… no, his eyes were on _Karen_!

"Kar… Kar…" He stuttered, tears springing once again to his eyes. Karen just gave him her trademark smirk and when Cliff saw this he rushed forward and hugged her tightly, silently thanking God the entire time.

"Well… It's kind of hard to explain what it was like. I can remember… I can remember…" Jonathan Carter said slowly, contemplating the answer. "I can remember nothing at all, but at the same time I can remember everything."

"What do you mean?" Ann pressed. She looked to Karen and winked. _I have been praying for this ever since she left! I can't believe she's finally back! And add John to that and…_ She sighed happily.

"I was at Heaven's gates, Ann. I don't know how I know I was though. I know I saw them, but I can't remember a single detail. I saw the angel at the gates, but I can't remember what he looked like. I saw…" His voice cracked and a wistful smile formed on his face. "I saw God… I truly did! But I can't remember any details…"

Everyone that was huddled around the table gasped in surprise and they began talking excitedly. All but Karen, who just locked her eyes on Carter probingly. The pastor's eyes locked on her own and Karen found herself scowling and looking away. Those eyes seemed to pierce right into her very soul.

They were all seated in the newly opened café of Flowerbud Village. Christians who decided that the bar wasn't the greatest place to hang out had opened it a few months before.

Nearly every person that had been at the funeral, plus quite a few more stood around in the café, listening to Carter and Karen as they recounted what they remembered about their respective 'demises'. Karen had finished talking a while ago (interrupted many times by old friends that rushed in, seeing if she was _really_ back), and then Carter had taken over the conversation.

"Praise God… praise God." Jack said quietly from beside her, having completely ignored her since Carter had begun speaking, an action that Karen resented.

Her eyes hardened and she sighed heavily as she saw her own parents giving Carter their complete attention, hardly even realizing that Karen sat in the room.

Karen scowled once more before rising from her seat and walking towards the door to the entrance. She heard some of the conversations go quiet and she smiled in satisfaction that she had finally gotten some of their attention.

"Karen?" She heard Jack ask. She stopped but didn't turn to face him.

"I'm going for a walk. Too stuffy in here." She replied coolly, before grabbing the door handle. Suddenly, the door flew open from the outside, pulling Karen into the man who had opened it so suddenly.

He had a mask of anger, frustration, and disappointment plainly shown on his face. Pastor Brown had come to see if the rumors were true. He came to see if Jonathan Carter, the man who had been _killed_ thanks to Brown and his poison, was really alive again.

That all changed when he had seen Karen slam into him roughly, sending them both a few steps back. His look of disappointment changed to confusion and then to joy.

"Karen?" He cried, unable to hide the elation in his voice. Her scowl changed as well and she grinned.

"Pastor Brown!" She embraced her old mentor and friend tightly. He returned the hug.

"I thought you were…"

"Dead? No, I uh… I had amnesia actually. I ended up in Flowerbud because of a plane crash and—"

"You were in that terrible crash a week ago?" Brown interrupted incredulously. Karen just nodded.

"Anyway… while I was here, I ended up regaining my memories!" She finished with a smile. Pastor Brown just smiled but then he saw someone behind Karen.

"So… the rumors are true." He said softly, not bothering to mask the contempt in his voice.

Pastor John Carter simply looked at him coolly. "They were never rumors, Pastor Brown."

"Yes, well, welcome back…" Brown said before turning and walking away, not even bothering to glance at Karen again.

"Brown." Carter said sternly, causing the other man to look back at him. "Can your Goddess raise someone from the dead? And if she could, _would_ she?" Without even replying, the other pastor walked on.

Karen sent Carter a look of resentment and walked out of the village, heading toward the mountain.

It was peaceful in the forest. So very peaceful. The birds sang cheerfully, oblivious to all the strife in the village and in Karen's life alone. Oblivious… What Karen wouldn't give to be _oblivious_ at the moment.

But that was impossible. She was not _Sara_ anymore. She was Karen. With every single memory. With every emotion. With every character trait. With every confusion…

And that confusion was on Karen's mind at the moment. She'd like to deny that Carter had ever been dead. She'd like to say it was all a big joke. But it wasn't. He even had a certificate of _death_! Carter had plans to post that up in his church sanctuary, just as a reminder of God's power. Karen knew that Flowerbud wasn't some third world country. Even though they were a little old fashioned in some things, they weren't so primitive to mistake a live man for a dead one!

"But dead men don't raise from the dead…" said Karen with a whisper.

"You're right." said a voice behind her, causing Karen to jump and turn around. Behind her calmly stood Popuri. "Dead men don't just raise from the dead. It defies all human logic. It's not possible."

Karen watched Popuri as she knelt down and picked up a flower. She promptly crushed it in her hand and then tore it to shreds. She left the pieces drop to the ground where she promptly stepped on it, twisting her foot, destroying what was left of it.

"Can I take this flower home and plant it, Karen? Can I water it and give it sunlight? If I did so, would it grow back and live again?" she asked, gauging Karen's reaction.

"No! You can't! And that's my—"

"Point?" Popuri finished. Karen nodded slowly. "So…" The pink-haired girl said before sitting on a log. "What happened?"

Karen sighed heavily and sat beside her. "I don't know… I just don't know."

"So why do you doubt what we say? If you have not even the slightest clue on how or why it happened, why ignore _our_ explanation which is a lot more plausible than he, or a flower, coming back to life spontaneously."

Karen fell silent, not sure how to answer that. Finally, she tried to muster up a reply. "I guess… I guess I don't see a reason for God or even any deity to exist."

"Well, I don't see a reason for hatred to exist. I think that AIDS is useless. Murder doesn't have a reason either. But you know what? They exist. Just because there's no reason isn't relevant.

"And you also have to take into account the fact that you see no reason for God to exist from _your_ point of view. To me or Jack or Cliff or just the average Joe, God existing means _everything_! We see _hundreds_ of reasons for God to exist! Is your opinion on the matter worth a lot more than ours?" Popuri said softly, looking straight into Karen's eyes.

Karen found herself unable to look at Popuri's eyes and she turned away, a scowl forming on her face. "That's not what I'm trying to say. Not at all. And I know that just because I don't see a reason doesn't hold much relevance! But it's just…" She frowned and sighed heavily. "Where's the proof?"

Much to Karen's surprise Popuri just _laughed_. She laughed! Karen glared at her. "What are you laughing about?" she demanded.

Popuri chuckled some more and then she grew serious again. "Remember earlier today, Karen? A man who was _dead_ is now talking up a storm in the local café. What more proof do you want?"

Karen's scowl deepened and she found herself unable to answer. "And that's not all! Look at your father. Look at _me_! We're completely different than what we used to be! Our very hearts have been changed in an instant! Sure, it's not that way with everybody. For some it takes weeks to even _months_ to change fully! But for some… like your dad or me, the change happened immediately. What caused that change, Karen?"

The black haired girl looked straight at Popuri and nearly spat as she said the next words. "I don't know! Okay?! I have _no clue_!"

Popuri winced slightly at Karen's malice but she continued. "So why are you still running? You have no idea, yet we seem to carry the answers. What are you looking for, Karen? Love? Fulfillment? A good time? Happiness? Joy? Freedom?"

"Maybe I'm not looking for anything." Karen replied flatly, obviously not wanting to talk about it anymore.

Popuri obviously didn't catch the hint or she just didn't care because she continued. "Then why are you letting the whole thing bother you so much? Why are you going on the defensive?" Karen didn't answer, but instead just stared straight ahead. Popuri sighed and rose to her feet. "Think about it, Karen. And find out what you're looking for." She walked away in the direction of town, leaving Karen alone.

"Am I searching?" She asked herself quietly.

It was Erica who approached Karen next. "Hey." She said quietly as she sat next to Karen.

Karen jumped and then looked at Erica. She scowled. "What do _you_ want?" Erica shrugged and looked in the direction that Karen was looking in.

"What are you doing just sitting here? I figured you'd be with Jack or something." She asked looking back at Karen. The other girl didn't answer. "Thinking about that earlier today?"

Karen groaned loudly and sighed. "Why does everybody want to talk about it? And why does everybody want to talk to _me_ about it?"

"Well, you're the only one who saw it in _person_ who saw it in person that _doesn't_ believe now. You're the only person who's seen Carter that doesn't believe now…" Erica said quietly, a smile slowly appearing on her face.

Karen looked at her strangely and then she realized what Erica was implying. "You became a Christian, didn't you?" She asked, already knowing the answer. Erica's smile grew and she shook her head vigorously. "I'm so happy for you." Karen said sarcastically.

Erica bit her lip and looked away for a second. "I'm sorry about everything, Karen. I know it may have seemed like I was trying to take Jack from you and I know that I should have never done some of the things I did… or at least _tried_ to do. I haven't made your life easy since you came back."

Karen looked away, her bottom lip trembling. This couldn't be happening to her. Seconds ago, Karen hated Erica's guts and now… now Erica was changing that. _It's all happening too fast… just too fast_. Karen told herself before steeling herself and looking back at Erica. "Whatever, Erica. Don't worry about it."

Erica nodded slowly and exhaled slowly, becoming relaxed. "If you don't mind my asking," she started. "What's holding you back?"

"I _do_ mind you asking." Karen said coldly before rising to her feet and taking a few steps away. Erica's voice stopped her.

"Why are you running?" That was the second time Karen had been asked that question that day. The first time she didn't have an answer. She didn't have one now either.

"I'm not running from anything." Karen replied coolly before walking away.


	10. Honest Proposal

**Chapter 9: Honest Proposal**

"_So why are you still running?"_ The words replayed in Karen's mind as she walked to the Vineyard, her home.

Home. She had always loved the Vineyard. It represented what she loved so much, yet… she never would have called it home. Not since her grandmother had died. It had always seemed so empty. Even the smell of the wine and the feel of the grapes had been unable to conquer that emptiness. That very emptiness is what made Karen desire another life.

Then Jack came along. All at once, she felt something different about the village. Something… enticing yet terrifying. His very presence had lit up a room. His smile had warmed her cold heart. He changed her life so rapidly that she was left wondering what had happened. He had filled the emptiness for a while. He made Flowerbud seem like… home.

But it was all downhill from there. She remembered vividly the _pain_ of walking in on the meeting of the _Army_. She remembered the look of horror on Jack's face. She remembered how the emptiness has rushed back in full force.

The original emptiness had caused her to desire. The latter had caused her to _take_.

But what about now? Was there still emptiness or was it complete? At the moment, Karen was no longer sure. In a way, the village seemed complete, yet… _she_ didn't. _Karen_ didn't feel complete any longer. Something was missing from her heart. Something that not even Jack could hope to fill.

And whatever that emptiness was… it was hard to resist. The thirst for whatever it is was taking over.

Jack looked around nervously, causing Rick to laugh. "You've already locked the door and pulled down the shades. Karen is _not_ going to see!"

The young farmer glared at his friend and sighed. "Well… I can't help it! This is… it's a big thing. I don't want her to get wind of it until I'm ready!"

Rick smirked. "Man… Cliff acted just like this when he came in and—"

"I was there. And have you forgotten what happened? _Ann_ walked in and found us! We had to scramble to hide the Feather and then _you_ had to come up with some excuse to get her out!"

Rick chuckled slightly. "Ah, yes… I still can't believe Ann fell for that." Jack grinned at him.

"She didn't. Ann just played along because she knew whatever it was going to be was gonna be good!" A voice said from behind them. Jack turned to see Cliff standing at the door… that was now wide open.

"How did you—shut the door!" Jack cried suddenly as he rushed forward and slammed the door shut. He turned back to Rick. "I thought you locked it!"

Rick just shrugged and turned back to tinkering some contraption on his counter. He called it a teleportation device, but at the moment, it was just a pile of metal, screws, and plastic sitting on his wooden countertop. "The solar panel connects to the power supply… Wait, that can't be right. The solar panel _is_ the power supply…" He mumbled before sighing heavily and banging his head on the counter comically.

Cliff looked at Jack with a smirk. "Two days after she regains her memory, you're gonna pop the _question_. You sure move fast, Jack."

His friend just laughed nervously. "Think she'll say—"

"_Yes_!" Cliff said, both finishing Jack's question and answering it at the same time.

Jack smiled. "Yeah… I guess you're right, but still… I'm a little nervous, ya know?" Cliff nodded and then looked at Rick, who was still tinkering.

Suddenly there was a bright flash from one of the parts and Rick yelped and jumped back as the piece caught on fire. "Not again!" He yelled before grabbing a well-used fire extinguisher off the wall and dousing the flames with the flame-retardant foam.

Jack and Cliff were both laughing loudly at that time. Jack laughed so hard that he ended up tripping and falling… which only caused Cliff to laugh harder. Rick only glared at the two. "_That_ is why I don't let people watch me mess with my inventions!"

Jack got up slowly, rubbing his back, which had hit the ground roughly and he remembered his reason for being here. Slowly, almost as if afraid it would break in his hand, he reached out and grabbed a large blue feather that sat on a shelf.

It felt soft yet strong in his hand. The lights above reflected off its glassy surface and Jack fought back tears as it hit him once again what this solitary feather meant.

But at the same time, Jack felt a slight bit of hesitation inside himself. Karen was not yet a Christian and was a little unsettling for Jack. But regardless of that hesitation, his hand closed softly over the feather and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a jumble of golden coins, equaling 1,000 G altogether. He placed that money on the counter in front of Rick and with a nod and nervous grin towards the two other men in the store, walked out.

Jack heard what sounded like a hammer nailing something into wood and he followed the sound. He came upon the Goddess Church and found the mayor of the village tacking boards up on the door.

"What's going on?" He asked, causing the mayor to jump.

The short, fat man spun around and smiled sadly. "Yesterday, Pastor Brown was found _dead_ inside the church."

"Dead? What happened?!"

"We don't know… from what it looked like…" He winced at the memory. "Brown was _ripped_ apart by something. I'm not going to go into the details, but he was found at the Goddess pond. Quite a gruesome sight."

"Was it by an animal of some sort?" Jack asked, although suspecting something more. He remembered how the Goddess had injured Brown earlier and wouldn't be surprised if in anger at Pastor Carter's resurrection she killed him.

"Possibly, but we didn't find any traces of fur or saliva on him! It's as if he was just ripped apart by… well… _nothing_! We've sent his remains to the city for a better examination. We don't have all the doohickeys they do, you know!" He chuckled slightly and turned back to the church. "A pity… he was a good man. I never got to know him as well as some, but still… and now I suppose the church will fall to the same fate."

Jack looked at the church thoughtfully. "Yes, I guess it will. But who will teach the children, now that Pastor Brown is gone?" The mayor shrugged and turned back to his work.

"They don't even have a schoolhouse anymore. I think we'll have to go a little while without a school."

"Hey! I have an idea!" Jack said with a smile. "Instead of letting this church be torn down, why don't we turn it into a school fulltime! We don't have to change anything! Er… well, we'd have to tear out everything related to the Goddess, but—"

"Why would we even have to do that?"

"Well, uh… I was thinking about keeping it, you know… sort of impartial to separate faiths. It could just be a school that took a neutral stance. You know, teach the children the basics, such as math, reading, grammar, and such. But when a child reaches the age in which he would start learning things like history or science, where the beliefs could start to conflict, he could be sent home to be schooled."

The mayor pondered that thoughtfully. "That could work… I say, Jack, I think you've got a good idea! I'll run it by the villagers next town meeting. It'll be essentially their idea but I don't think they'll mind that at all!"

Jack grinned and started walking away, all the while hearing the mayor muttering to himself things like, "Yes, a good idea indeed." and, "It'll be the perfect place for that."

"Jack, why did you just grab me and bring me here?" Karen asked.

The two were at the docks of Flowerbud Village's beach. Karen sat with her feet hanging off the dock and Jack was just standing up behind her, watching the sun as it set below the horizon.

"Karen…" He started, "I love you."

Karen looked at him strangely. "Well, _that_ was random, but…" She grinned. "I love you too!"

"So, did you hear about Pastor Brown?" Jack asked tentatively. Karen looked at him.

"What about him?" She asked a little confused.

"Karen… he was killed." Karen suddenly shot up from her seat and spun to face Jack.

"_What_?!" She cried, her face red with fear.

"He was found dead at the Goddess Pond. They think it was an animal of some sort. But I—"

"D-dead…?" Karen started. "But what would have killed him? We don't have many dangerous animals around here!"

"I think it was—"

"Oh, Goddess, this can't be happening… He was my mentor! Practically my father!"

"Speaking of the Goddess…" Suddenly Karen wrapped her arms around Jack and sobbed into his shoulder. He mentally cursed himself for being so blunt about this. So he held Karen softly, letting her let all of her pain and anguish out. The Blue Feather in his pocket agitated him all the while.

It was a while before Karen calmed down again. Her sobs turned to sniffles turned to silence. Many times she opened her mouth to speak but then she'd shut it suddenly, cutting herself off before any words could reach Jack's ears. Finally she licked her lips and looked at Jack. "What am I going to do now, Jack? I mean… I don't really _follow_ the Goddess anymore, especially not after that… _experience_ we had, but still… he _was_ my mentor! He was there since I was a child and I could always go to him when I needed shelter or advice! When my grandmother died, it was like he was all I had left…"

"You aren't alone anymore, Karen." Jack said softly while looking her right in the eye. "All around you, people are willing to just _listen_ and maybe even give a bit of advice from time to time! Even your _parents_ are ready to listen now. This village has undergone a radical change by—"

"Don't say it." Karen interrupted. "Don't you _dare_ say it was by God, cause if you do, mark my words, Jack, I will _leave_ this beach here and now."

Jack was slightly stunned at the strength in her words but then he resolved to do what he had come here to do. "Okay… I won't say that. I'll say something else completely…" Reaching into his pocket, he pulled the glittering Blue Feather out and kneeled slowly (an old city habit that was hard to break).

Karen's eyes widened as he did this. This wasn't happening to her! Not now, right after everything she had gone through! How could he be so rude?

"Karen Roberts… will you marry me?"

Everything went quiet to Karen. The rolling waves seemed to calm and the creatures of the evening and night gave a reverential silence. The only sound she heard was her heart pounding wildly in her chest and her breaths as they came quickly and sharply.

Her original reaction to his proposal had disappeared. She was still shocked, but it was a good shocked. One that she welcomed with open arms. Slowly she smiled, revealing her perfectly white teeth, and she opened her mouth to speak. But instead of speaking softly as she had planned, she ended up just squealing loudly and forcing Jack to get back up on his feet while hugging him. "Yes, Jack! Of _course_ I'll marry you!" She cried after she stopped squealing in excitement.

Her eyes watered as she hugged him even tighter. She downright sobbed when he hugged her back.

"Karen, I want to ask you something." They were sitting at the dock again, holding hands. Karen's head rested on Jack's shoulder and she sighed happily.

"Shoot." She said half-heartedly, her mind was elsewhere.

"Will you…" He sounded a bit nervous and she looked up at him. "Will you go with me to church tomorrow?" She opened her mouth to reply but he continued. "I mean, I know you might feel a bit uncomfortable about it all and I'm not going to try to force you. I'm just asking, Karen. Just one service." She slowly began shaking her head in disagreement but then she found herself captivated by Jack's big eyes. Eyes that were now pleading with her to go with him. And in light of those eyes, she couldn't do anything but give in to his wishes…

Flowerbud Christian Church was full of familiar and some not-so familiar faces. Jack had introduced Karen to a few of them during the pre-service breakfast, but she was hardly cordial to them. She openly expressed her desire to _not_ be there and she earned quite a few glares from Jack as a result of it.

"Can't you at least pretend to be having a good time?" He asked after one such occasion. She had just looked at him and shook her head while grinning. She was obviously getting a kick out of annoying Jack. With a groan, Jack opened his mouth to reply, but then he noticed that the small crowd was flocking to the entrance to the church's sanctuary. He looked at Karen and nodded, signifying that it was time to head inside.

"Here we go…" She said under her breath before following Jack out of the lobby where they had eaten their breakfast and into the sanctuary.

"'Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.' Revelation 19:7." Pastor Carter said as he began his message. "My message today is titled, "The Bride and Her Groom". It may not be very original or funny, but it gets the point across, no?" Scattered laughter was heard from the congregation and he did a mock bow.

"Thank you, I'm here all night." A bit more laughter was heard and he grinned. "Okay, back on track! Does anybody here _not_ know what that scripture talks about when it talks about Jesus' bride?"

Karen tried not to look totally confused about this, and she thought she had succeeded, but Jack looked at her knowingly. She missed the hidden look Jack gave Carter and the slight nod from the latter.

"Well, in case there are some of you who are too embarrassed to come clean with _not_ knowing, I'll tell you about it anyway.

"The Bride of Jesus is _us_—the church. Now I know this is kind of hard to swallow, specifically among the male population," More laughter and a few sporadic jokes here and there. "however it's that way. Now, I don't expect that it'll be a real physical marriage where we'll all be formed into one pure and spotless bride and say the _I do_'s, but it holds more meaning than you and I know.

"This mindset is what drove Jesus Christ, nearly 2,000 years ago, to endure the word from which _excruciating_ comes: crucifixion. From mockery to the beatings to the nails, he endured so much for _our_ sakes. We being His Bride.

"Now, I won't go into the gruesome details of crucifixion; that's another sermon in itself. Let's just say that it being the root word of excruciating fits… very well. Only one truly head over heels in love would be willing to endure that kind of torture for another. And Jesus did all that and so much more."

Karen found her waning interest beginning to grow. Maybe it was because she had lived a life of bitterness and insult. Maybe it was because she was just now beginning to understand true love. Maybe it was because she knew beyond any doubt that Jack would be crucified for _her_ sake. Whatever it was, it caused her to listen more closely.

Carter's eyes moved across the congregation and Karen could swear that his eyes _stopped_ on hers at least three times. It was beginning to make her quite self-conscious. Finally, he looked back to his notes and cleared his throat.

"My brothers and sisters in Christ, the time of the Bride and Bridegroom comes soon!" Various sounds of agreement—whoops, claps, laughs, and _amen_'s—rose from the congregation at that.

"Please, don't hold back any more. Jesus desires so much to call _you_ His bride! He came to earth and died on that cross just so _you_ could be with Him forever! He loves you so much…" Carter said, his voice soft. Karen knew he was talking to the entire congregation, yet it felt like he was talking straight to her. He felt his eyes stop on her many times.

"He'd do it a million times over just to be with you. He would be _crucified_ that many times and then some just to call you His bride. Please let your heart be softened. Do not hold back any longer. He calls for you now. Make the choice. Don't look back. Following our Lord is better than anything this world can offer." Soft _amen_'s and head nods followed those words.

"I don't want to embarrass you, and neither does He. But I'm going to ask those who desire to respond to God's wondrous call to raise your hand. In a moment, I'm going to ask you to come to the front so that I can meet with you in person and lead you through the beginnings of salvation.

"And to those who still doubt, look at my wall and you shall see a _Certificate of Death_. It's my own, but God, in His perfect mercies, raised me up so that I could shepherd you further in your walk."

To say that Karen wanted to raise her hand would be an understatement. She wanted to raise her hand, jump up and down, and be the first to run to the front. She wanted to have what these people, these _Christians_, had. The peace in their eyes. The joy in their voices. The spring in their step.

But something held her back. Something deep inside her stopped her in her tracks. She was too scared of the pain that might come with the Christian faith. What if she found that it was all wrong after this moment? She was sure it would shatter her. To put your faith in something and then have it collapse was a pain she had no desire to feel again. Too many times had she done that and too many times had she been hurt.

So, she didn't move from her seat. Instead, she watched as a few raised their hands. "Thank you, God… thank you so much…" Carter said softly, hardly even picked up by the small microphone clipped to his shirt.

Karen felt Jack's eyes settle on her, but she did not dare meet him with her own. It would have probably been too much for her to bear. So she just watched, almost longingly, as the few that had boldly proclaimed their _own_ desire walked to the front to meet with the pastor.

The sounds of music instruments and the singers that made up the _worship team_ filled the sanctuary and Carter, along with those that went forward, walked into his personal study where he would instruct them in the ways of God…

After the service, Jack found himself in a painful situation. Deciding to go to Pastor Carter for prayer, he knocked on his office door softly. It was almost an hour after the service and the people with the pastor had long since left.

The door opened and Pastor Carter grinned at him. "What a response! There were _seven_ people who came forward, Jack!" He was obviously still on an emotional high after the service.

"Yeah…" Jack said solemnly, unable to feel Carter's joy at the moment.

"Jack? Are you all right? Come in my office." Jack did so and sat down heavily in one of the red leather chairs that adorned the pastor's office. "What is it, Jack?"

"I… It's Karen. I had so expected something to happen with her today! I begged God for _hours_ last night about it! And after those prayers, I truly felt like God had answered my prayer! I felt like God told me that today would be the day…"

"Ahh… I understand that. Many times I tried to connect with her, glancing at her from time to time. I'll be honest with you; nearly my entire message was made in hopes of winning her over for God. I would have never suspected having seven _others_ come forward but for her to stay behind! I guess God's still working on her…"

"So, you think it's not over just yet?" Jack asked, a bit more hope in his voice.

"Far from it, my friend. Far from it…"


	11. I Do

**Chapter 10: I Do**

Karen _knew_ she should have never suggested a wedding so soon! Now it was the day before and all _kinds_ of thoughts flew through her mind! What if it didn't last? What if he changed completely after marriage? What if _she_ changed? So many questions and no answers. But it was too late to be thinking those thoughts, she knew. In a matter of twelve short hours, she would be wed to Jack Williams.

And as her digital clock changed to 10:01, she knew that if she didn't get some rest, she wouldn't last through the wedding the next day.

But as she lay on her bed, sleep refused to come. Karen tried to get her mind off of Jack by thinking about other things. Like how Ann had just found out that she's pregnant. Or maybe how the new schoolhouse would be opened up at the beginning of the week. Or maybe even how she didn't feel so empty without Pastor Brown around as she thought she would.

But in light of her upcoming wedding, her thoughts seemed to migrate from her _own_ wedding to another 'wedding'.

"'_Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.' Revelation 19:7."_

With a scowl she scoffed at her thoughts, but she wasn't able to escape them.

"_This mindset is what drove Jesus Christ, nearly 2,000 years ago, to endure the word from which excruciating comes: crucifixion. From mockery to the beatings to the nails, he endured so much for our sakes. We being His Bride."_

Karen's scowl grew deeper. Why was she remembering all of this _now_—weeks later?

"_Now, I won't go into the gruesome details of crucifixion; that's another sermon in itself. Let's just say that it being the root word of excruciating fits… very well. Only one truly head over heels in love would be willing to endure that kind of torture for another. And Jesus did all that and so much more."_

She squinted her eyes shut and begged sleep to come, but she was just too alert for it.

"_My brothers and sisters in Christ, the time of the Bride and Bridegroom comes soon!"_

Deciding to go for a walk, she got dressed in some sweats and walked out of her house and into the warm air of the summer.

The vineyard was dark. The grape vines were merely silhouettes in the distance.

Not too far away, she could Jack's own dark farm, full of nearly ripe corn and tomatoes. The lowing of his cows and bulls filled Karen's ears and she felt such an _excitement_ about making that farm her home as well. She could hardly keep all the pent up feelings inside her. She so desired to run to Jack now, to embrace him tightly and to kiss him sweetly. She loved this man. More than she loved anyone or anything else. And that alone, she knew, would keep them together. There would be no drastic changes in either of them after marriage. Nothing strong enough to pull their intertwined hearts apart. She would be with Jack until the day she died.

And with that comforting thought, she walked back into her house and up to her room, where she fell asleep quickly.

To say that Jack was nervous was an understatement. To say he was a _wreck_ would be an understatement too! His palms were sweating and he knew his suit was sticking to his skin. The church felt twenty degrees hotter than it actually was and Jack was _sure_ he could see the waves of heat in the air… then again, he knew it was probably his imagination.

He had taken off his trademark blue cap and ended up combing his hair back, holding it in place with a mixture of moose, gel, and hairspray. He had enough gunk in his hair that if there was a match lit halfway across the room, his head would be a blackened crisp in seconds!

The suit he was wearing was an ordinary black one. A little too small at that, in his opinion anyway. The person who had tailored it had said that it was just fine and he knew that was right; it just clung to his form, slightly showing off his toned muscle beneath. But because it was so tight, Jack only felt the heat rising.

Cliff, his best man, laid a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him some, but Jack ended up jumping visibly at the soft touch. Some laughter erupted from the crowd that had gathered but it was dismissed by a glare from Cliff.

"What's taking so long…?" Jack whispered to Cliff, who stood behind him.

"It's only been _thirty_ seconds!"

"It sure feels a lot long—" He was cut off as the familiar sound of organ music rang through the church building. The doors at the far end of the sanctuary opened slowly and there stood Karen with her arm in Gotz's.

She was dressed in a sparkling white dress that reached down to just above her ankles. Her sleeves cut off at her elbows and a strip of the dress went up and wrapped around the back of her neck and back down, leaving her cream colored shoulders bare. She had dyed her hair back to her original brown and blonde combo and had obviously put painstakingly long hours into making it perfect.

As the daughter and father walked slowly (too slowly, in Jack's opinion), Jack could easily see that Karen was a little uncomfortable having her arm linked with Gotz's. "Old memories die hard." She had told Jack once before concerning her father.

Then as slow as they walked, they were to the point where Jack walked down from the altar and Gotz passed Karen's hand onto his own. When their hands clasped, it was like electricity. For a moment, everything stopped and Jack just stared at their intertwined hands. His was callous with the years of farm work and hers was soft and smooth. Perfect.

_Just like everything else about her_. Jack told himself as a smile slowly appeared on his face. _All except… no, I'm not going to worry about that now. Leave that one up to God to work on_.

He began walking back towards Pastor Carter with Karen beside him. Finally, they stood before him, hands clasped, and he started the ceremony: "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…"

_Three years… I was gone three years_. Karen's thoughts were a jumble in her head. _And he never gave up. He always hoped… **prayed** that I'd find my way back here_.

Karen wondered _why_ Jack would stay so devoted to her. Even after everything she had done, from the coldness of their first meeting to the time she had lied about her memories returning.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Carter's mouth moving and she could read on his lips what he was saying; yet she heard something completely different in her mind.

"_This mindset is what drove Jesus Christ, nearly 2,000 years ago, to endure the word from which excruciating comes: crucifixion. From mockery to the beatings to the nails, he endured so much for our sakes. We being His Bride."_

She resisted the urge to shake her head in annoyance. Why did she have to start remembering that _one_ service now?

"…holy matrimony." She heard Carter say.

"_Please, don't hold back any more. Jesus desires so much to call _you_ His bride!"_ Karen gritted her teeth as his lips moved once more and she heard a memory of that church service.

"I do." Jack said while looking at her with a quizzical look. He could easily see that something was bothering her.

"And do you, Karen, take Jesus to be your spiritually wedded husband?" Karen's eyes widened slightly as she heard Carter's voice.

_What is he…_ She soon realized that what she had heard was actually nothing but something her mind had made up. She was now hearing Carter normally and she was hearing the _right_ words to the ceremony.

"Through better or for worse…"

There was a bright flash and now Karen stood at the base of a small hill. It wasn't very large and special looking, but there was a crowds of _thousands_ pressing all around.

Looking around, she saw that they people were all dressed in grubby robes made of fleece and other materials. Some even wore strange robes made of a course material—sackcloth.

In the distance she could see a large _temple_ of some sort. It rose above a large city, one that looked very old. There were no cars or highways. The roads were strictly made of dirt and some made of loose rocks. It seemed the mode of transportation was mostly made on mules or on foot. Wherever she was, it sure wasn't Flowerbud Village!

A murmur arose from the crowd and a path was made through it. Everybody around Karen moved aside as some soldiers dressed in old Roman uniforms moved past. They flanked a muscular man with long brown hair that covered most of his face. That man, he carried a huge _cross_ on his back—a back that Karen could see was a bloody mess. She couldn't even see any skin beneath the blood and—she shuddered—exposed muscle.

"No!" Somebody cried out. The person ran out to the soldiers but was immediately pushed back by one of them. The person—Karen could see that she was an older woman—ended up on her rear at the foot of the parted crowd.

Laughter erupted from them all and a few pointed accusing fingers at her. "Maybe we should crucify _her_ next!"

"Crucify?" Karen wondered aloud.

There was a loud thud and she turned her attention back to the man carrying the cross. He had tripped and fallen. The cross now lay heavily on his back and even from the ten to twenty feet between them, Karen could see he was in plain agony.

It was then that she noticed the large _crown_ upon his head. It was made of some sort of vine. Her interest peaked and she moved a bit closer. Gasping, she realized that the _vine_ had very long _thorns_ jutting out from its surface. Those very thorns dug into the man's scalp, causing more blood to flow into his matted hair.

"Get up!" One of the soldiers, the leader Karen guessed, yelled as he delivered a swift kick to the man's side. The man only cried out in pain and then a moan escaped his lips.

"_Get up!_" The leader yelled once more. After the man didn't reply, he growled softly and walked towards the wall of people that surrounded them.

He found one man and pointed to the cross while talking to him. The man in the crowd shook his head and said something back. In anger, the soldier grabbed him by the collar and roughly pushed him towards the fallen man. "Carry it for him!"

Hesitantly, the man grabbed the cross and, with a soft groan, hefted it up. He began walking down the path that they had been walking before, all the while dragging the rugged cross.

The soldiers kicked the fallen man once more and finally brought him to his feet. They pushed him forward, following the man carrying the cross.

For the first time, she saw his face. It was a blue and purple mess. His entire face was terribly swollen. His eyes were nearly covered by the swollen eyebrows. Someone had beat this man and beat him badly… she could guess who too.

The next events flew by quickly for Karen. She watched in horror as long nails were _driven_ into his wrists, nailing him to the wooden cross. She flinched at every time the heavy hammer clanked loudly against the nail.

Then the soldiers moved on to his feet. Pulling out an even longer nail, they placed one foot on the other and laid the nail, point down, on his feet. Bringing the hammer back, the soldier drove it forward, a resounding _CLANK_ echoing through the air. Karen was forced to turn away and cover her ears as they repeated the process until his feet were securely _nailed_ to the cross.

Then the soldiers all walked around to behind the cross that was lying on the ground and began lifting it up. After lifting it to a vertical position, a ladder was brought over and one of the soldiers climbed up and began hammering the cross into the soft ground while the others held it in place.

After that was finished, a sign was nailed to the cross as well. The wording on it was in a few languages that Karen didn't know, but she already knew exactly what it said: _"Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews"_.

All of a sudden, Karen realized what this was. It was the _crucifixion_ of Jesus.

"Karen Roberts, will you marry me?" Suddenly, with a flash, her mind was replaying that fateful time when Jack had proposed only with a twist… it wasn't Jack.

Instead it was _Jesus_ who kneeled in the sand and pulled out the blue feather. It was from his mouth and voice did the words come from. It was from his eyes did Karen see the love in them.

"I don't…" She said softly. Tears threatened to pour over her eyes and she fought to keep them back. She had just seen this man _nailed_ to a cross. She saw his agony and pain. "I can't…"

"I did it all for you." She froze as he spoke. "I endured the torture and beatings and mockery and the crucifixion all for you. I _died_ for you. I gave up everything and came to this earth to die… for you. I love you that much."

She began shaking as the first sob hit her hard. "H-how can you love me so much? After everything…"

"Do I need a reason to love? From the beginning of time, I've had my eye on you. I created you, not because I had to but because I _wanted_ to. I loved you even before the world and everything in it was created."

She was crying harder now. It wasn't possible, she told herself. No one could be so loving.

"Why does your fiancée love you?" Jesus asked softly, staring piercingly into her eyes.

"I don't… I don't know…"

"Because he just does. There doesn't have to be a reason to love. Love has no reason. It's just there. A blessing straight from Heaven."

"I don't understand…" Karen said between sobs.

"You will in time. Now, will you marry me?"

And then, with a flash, Karen was standing at the altar with Jack again. She wasn't sobbing, but a crystalline tear rolled down her cheek.

"…until death do you part?" Carter finished, looking expectantly at Karen.

And at that moment, as Karen stared into Jack's eyes, she found her answer. At that very moment, she finally understood… and believed.

With a smile, she said loud enough for only Jack and Carter to hear, "Until death do us part…" And then louder, "I do."

**The End**


End file.
